The Music Industry’s Effect on Today’s Drug Abusing Society

The psychology behind desensitization is that if you put something abnormal in front of somebody enough times, their mind will become accustomed to seeing it, and it will become standard. It’s a tactic that has been used for ages, and it’s now being used in the music industry. This desensitizes people with regards to the seriousness of drug use and abuse.

In fact, many of the videos show drug use and alcohol consumption openly.  Some of the artists themselves talk about it casually in their songs as if it’s something positive. The thing that’s terrifying about that is that children emulate celebrities and musicians. These people are becoming their role models. However, they are not offering the children much more than an invitation to develop a drug addiction.

Glorifying Drug Sales

Music’s effect on drug abuse in our society is apparent in the glorification of drug sales. The whole gangster persona in certain types of music pushes a kingpin mentality. The message that it sends is that it’s okay to sell drugs to people as long as you’re making money. That concept has been saturating the music industry heavily for at least the past two decades. It mostly affects the rap industry along with the glorification of gun violence and the objectification of women.

Music’s Effect on Drug Abuse:  Is It Deliberate?

As previously stated, the music has become like one long drug abuse advertisement. It is getting harder to get through a song without hearing about somebody popping some kind of pill or smoking some drug. They don’t discriminate against alcohol either. The “purple drank” or the “lean” is often promoted in the songs. It’s a beverage that contains a strong narcotic such as codeine. In fact, some artists are openly pushing it as if it’s legal to abuse. What’s even worse, young teenagers and preteens are using drugs so that they can be like their idols. No one is stopping these activities, banning the music, or speaking out about it much because there’s so much money involved in it.

Romanticizing Inebriation

Today’s music industry also romanticizes inebriation. All you have to do is take a little trip to YouTube, and you’ll find some drunk or drug-influenced celebrities holding interviews or stumbling around in public cursing at people and such. These types of activities are put on social media pages as entertainment, and they’re often glorified. All of these things affect our society, a society that has already been severely crippled by the growing drug epidemic. It is not helping the 23 million people who are suffering right now and trying to break free of the bondage of drug addiction.

Open Discussion About Rehabilitation

The only positive thing that the music industry pushes with regards to drugs is rehabilitation. We do see a lot of celebrities openly discussing their willingness to go to rehab centers and get help. So that’s a good thing because it plants a seed of recovery hope in anyone who is watching. Other than that, the music industry doesn’t seem to be an advocate of healthy lifestyles.  Music’s effect on drug abuse is just another example of how impressionable our youth are today.