Take out those Earphones

"John, can you pass the milk?"

No movement.

"JOHN!"

He lifts up his head and pulls out his earbud. "Are you talking to me?"

Sigh.


Does this sound typical? Probably. Man, that's got to be frustrating.

You probably wonder, why is it that teenager are always plugged in? Either to an ipod or the computer or something. Why are we constantly bombarding ourselves with music and other technologies?

Well, I think for some of us, it's an escape. From what, you ask? Honestly,...from you. I know, that's
 a sad thing to hear. It's one of the things that we have control over in our lives, and we flaunt that freedom to choose what kind of music to listen to and when to listen to it. By listening to it, we are tuning out the real world and escaping into our own for a while, a world where we have all the influence.

Some studies do say that when teens use music to escape all the time, it could be a sign of depression, so just watch out.

There's also a really interesting New York Times articles about the effect that music has on teens. Do explicit songs or songs referencing drugs, sex, or alcohol affect our actions? Are we more likely to do drugs if we listen to songs that glorify them? Well, that's why this article is interesting. It has scientific research to back up theories, so I won't even try to explain it. I'm not qualified. Here's the link: NYT article

Lastly, what kind of music does your teen listen to? Do you know? Well, that's a good thing to find out. I'm not saying go be invasive and look through your kid's ipod, just ask, "What song is that?" Maybe you'll find that you have something in common. Who knows?