Media today is plagued with violence, drugs, and sex. With a growing number of teens participating in these activities it raises the question: Does media have something to do with it?

Music and video games have changed a lot over the last century.

GTA. A game filled with violence and crime. Actually, that’s the game. You steal cars, shoot people, and do drugs. The game is rated 18 and up but there are a growing number of kids playing. This epidemic plagues the nation and some of the infected are as little as eight. Jacob Rose, a video game player, thinks there are way too many young kids playing the graphic games.

“Grand Theft auto is 18 or older and I have seen at least one hundred kids play Grand Theft auto,” Rose said.

This really highlights the growing problem.

It isn’t just the video games that damage our youth. We can find references to drugs, sex, and even prostitution in many songs. Kendrick Lamar’s song, “Recipe” perfectly highlights that.  

“Got that women, weed and weather

Don’t it sound clever, come and play

What more can I say? Welcome to LA,”

[lyrics from the song Recipe].

This song talks about smoking marijuana and having sex. This is glorifying dangerous acts and influencing young kids. Many kids are singing along to the radio without knowing what it means. We have created a society that is enabling this. You think it is just a catchy song but maybe the kid next door listens and likes the idea of doing drug and having sex. Maybe he thinks it sounds fun and thinks, “If people make millions and do it why shouldn’t I?” But it hasn’t always been this way. Courtlyn Pedini loves rap music but she does think it has changed.

“Back in 2000s there wasn’t as many references to bad stuff as there is now,” Pedini said.

The media is changing more and more, with adult themes becoming popular among young kids. We can’t say this will do nothing to our youth. We will soon understand the side effects of growing up with this bad influence.