Pop Music Is a Bad Influence on Children -Survey
A survey conducted recently has said more than 80% of children are mimicking overtly provocative dance moves and repeating lyrics of sexual songs after being exposed to explicit pop music are into drugs and unwarranted sexual relationships.
The Netmums poll, which surveyed more than 1,500 parents, suggests that mothers and fathers are increasingly concerned that many of today’s pop stars put on far more explicit performances than when they were young, and that it is sending their children negative messages about sex.
Many parents fear that their sons and daughters are being taught that they need to show off their bodies and act in a sexual manner in order to get noticed.
A third of the parents surveyed admitted that their child had copied overtly provocative dance moves they had seen pop stars perform, while more than four fifths said their youngster had sung or repeated sexual song lyrics without realising what they meant.
Surprisingly, almost one in 12 said that their son or daughter had sung lyrics knowing what they meant, with some first becoming aware of the meaning of the songs they were singing by the age of five or even younger.
Asked how they felt about singers such as Miley Cyrus and Rihanna, more than half of parents said that while they did not mind stars acting sexily, they believed some were “over the top”.
Around a fifth said that pop stars had always acted in this fashion because they knew it sold music, while two thirds said that the message being sent by some singers was that “you need to flash your body and be sexual to get noticed”.
Of those questioned that have boys, almost half said that they feared sexy music videos may make them grow up expecting women to be too sexually available, while 58% said it may leave their sons expecting women to have unrealistic figures.
Of those with girls, three quarters worried their daughters would think they would be judged on their looks, not personality or achievements, and nearly two thirds said they thought their child might be expected to be sexual too soon.
Almost nine in 10 parents said they thought pop stars acted worse today, and had to go further to shock, than singers did from their own childhood. Many of the parents surveyed said that they tried to shield their children from watching explicit music videos.
Netmums founder, Siobhan Freegard said: “Modern parents aren’t prudes – they know sex sells. But there’s a strong feeling that things have gone too far now.
“It’s toxic to tell young kids casual sex and violence are something to aspire to. Instead, if a star wants to make a statement, why not use their brain, not their body?