Teens, Drugs and Edm: A Familiar Story About Young People and Loud Music
Written by E D, Posted on , in Section Teens & Tweens
Before we start pointing any fingers, it's important to get some things out of the way: most young people love loud music. A lot of young people experiment with drugs. Loving loud music, whether it was Led Zeppelin back in the day, or Skrillex today, doesn't automatically mean that young people are taking drugs. It's important to clarify that before we discuss the subject any further, because it's not worth sending parents of otherwise good kids on a witch hunt just because their kids like some annoying, loud music that they have to go to scary, huge raves to hear.
EDM stands for electronic dance music. It is characterized by impossibly deep, repetitive kick drums that sound like this: oonce, oonce, oonce. There is usually crazy noises that sound like digital velociraptors dying in a kitchen disposal, and ridiculous lyrics that sound like they were written by the actual dumbest person in the entire world. That we think this music is annoying is unimportant. Our parents thought the music that we listen to was incredibly annoying. That's just how it works. What's going on here is that there seems to be an unusually high correlation between teens abusing drugs and the same teens going to raves or other 'parties' where EDM is played.
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A Sadly Familiar Tale of Drugs
On August 30, 2013 – September 1, 2013, Electric Zoo, a huge EDM festival in New York cancelled its final day because of the separate deaths of two young people from apparent MDMA overdoses. The ruling on the cause of death is preliminary, and it should be noted that MDMA is rarely the only factor in a drug related fatality attributed primarily to MDMA.
MDMA, frequently known as Molly, and often misrepresented as a "pure" form of ecstasy, is a dangerous substance known for providing a sense of intense euphoria. Many users also report feeling nervous, nauseated or jittery. Molly is usually ingested in a powder or pill form, and the user almost never has any idea how much of the drug they are actually ingesting. Molly is popular at raves primarily because many people feel it enhances the quality of the music as well as creating a more desirable atmosphere for socialization. Anyone who has been to one of these events sober can tell you that the atmosphere there is not desirable and that the people are not the sort you would ordinarily want to socialize with. This alone is evidence of the powerful influence of these drugs over their users.
Molly has seen a huge surge in awareness across popular culture thanks to its elevated profile in many songs by rappers and pop stars. When performers namecheck drugs in their songs, it is often to gain a kind of alternative credibility. But the message it sends to young people can be dangerous.
So What is The Problem: The Kids, The Music or The Parties?
What has always been the problem at the heart of teen drug use? Values. We need to instill values in our children so that they grow up knowing that doing drugs is dangerous and the risks of breaking the law are simply not worth it. The preponderance of evidence demonstrates that the outcomes available to drug users are severely limited compared to teens who don't use drugs.
The raves or parties are just one place that some kids will go to use drugs. There are plenty of other kids there who are not using narcotics. I'm not sure if I would want my son or daughter going to one of these events, but there are plenty of good kids there. The problem is trust. Are our kids going to these kinds of events without our knowledge? If we're allowing them to go, is it because we trust them or because we are oblivious to the risks? The answer here is communication. We need to keep the lines of communication open. The key to any successful relationship, whether it's at home or at work or anywhere else, is effective communication.
As for the music, well, let's just say it's not my cup of tea. It sounds an awful lot like music made to take drugs to if you ask me, but I am sure my parents felt the same way about the music I listened to as a teen. Some music these days does go fairly far toward glorifying the consumption of drugs, but most studies have shown that this influence alone is not enough to motivate most kids to experiment with drugs.
Music doesn't make kids take drugs.
Raves don't make kids take drugs.
Kids who don't fully understand the consequences of their actions will find ways to convince themselves that taking drugs is OK. It is our job to make sure we provide them with the knowledge to make healthy, responsible choices.
