Who's To Blame?

A detailed Summary of Who's To Blame?

In past decades, society did not influence teen suicide attempts as much as it does today. Teens today are pressured by the media such as television, music, and other factors to act in a certain way to be accepted into the society. Young adults are lead to believe that sexual behaviors, drug and alcohol use and other dangerous behaviors are okay because they are portrayed as if they were through our media. This is a tough time in an adolescent's life, the need to feel as if they fit in or meet up to society's measures of what is right, they may feel as if suicide is a simple way out.

According to Kienhorst, "Depression, hopelessness, excessive drug or alcohol use, and adverse factors in a family's environment are all signs of a suicide attempt" (Quoted in Martin). An adolescent's preference of music may also play a role in his or her suicide. Many types of music, from country to heavy metal, have been linked to teen suicide (Scheel). Not only have these types of music been blamed, but also artist such as Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne's group, Black Sabbath, have been sued for the suicides of few teens (Scheel). More recent artist such as Blink 182 and Madonna have also be linked to teen's reasons for suicide (Herbert). T

It's not fit for living in." (Judas Priest "Beyond the Realms of Death")

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You'll never set foot in my room again

Statistics state that, suicide is the third leading cause of death in teens behind accidents and homicides (Carr). Females are lead to believe to make three times the amount of suicide attempts than males. Though five times the amount of males follow through with actual suicide (Carr). Studies found that considerably more females that listen to the heavy metal genre of music, in contrast to those who listen to pop music, are reported to make attempts to killing themselves (66% vs. 35%). Studies also show that those who listen to heavy metal music found "somewhat unimportant" and "somewhat important" reasons in why they should not commit suicide. In distinction to those who listen to pop music found "somewhat important" and "quite important" reason in why they should not commit suicide (Scheel). With these statistics in mind, people must understand that music like heavy metal can lead a child to believe that there is no real important to reason to life.

Not only have lyrics given teenagers the drive to commit suicide, but also now evidence is shown that also music videos can be linked the cause of teen suicides. An occurrence of this would be when a young female got behind the wheel of a car and went on a violent killing spree, killing at least eight males, which then ended in a suicide. What causes this type of incidents is what many people are found asking society? In this case, a music video that Madonna had made for her new video, What It Feels Like for a Girl (Viselman). Madonna I am sure did not set out to make this video for the intent of a young girl to go on a killing spree, killing only males and then ending it by committing suicide.

Scheel states that "The pessimism of heavy metal music, as opposed to that of country music with its more traditional values and greater social acceptability, would however seem more likely to attract unhappy and alienated youth." In research done by Arnett he found that, "U.S adolescents that listen to heavy metal music are found to be a more extreme group, with more pronounced negative characteristics" (Quoted in Scheel). In contrast to this statement, research has been found that country music may link listeners to commit suicide. According to Steven Stock of Wayne State University: "Songs that are written about alcohol abuse, and alienation from work or society might nurture depression and thus increase one's likelihood of committing suicide", (Quoted in Raymondo).

Though, at the same time Madonna must realize that young teenage girls look up to her and dictate what they see her perform on music videos. Madonna is a mother of two young children, and she must recognize that children and teenagers perceive the media in different ways than those of adults, and tend to mimic what they see. Children and young adults are naive, and believe what they see appear on T.V is okay to reenact, so artist and directors of music videos must recognize this problem and find a limit to their extreme freedom.

This is my life this is my life and

According to Kienhorst, "Depression, hopelessness, excessive drug or alcohol use, and adverse factors in a family's environment are all signs of a suicide attempt" (Quoted in Martin). An adolescent's preference of music may also play a role in his or her suicide. Many types of music, from country to heavy metal, have been linked to teen suicide (Scheel). Not only have these types of music been blamed, but also artist such as Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne's group, Black Sabbath, have been sued for the suicides of few teens (Scheel). More recent artist such as Blink 182 and Madonna have also be linked to teen's reasons for suicide (Herbert). Though there are those who do not believe that the media does not play a role in suicide, the link

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Approximate Word count = 5792
Approximate Pages = 23 (250 words per page double spaced)

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