Are teenagers really so easily influenced by what they see and hear?

I wasn't intending to write about Lou Reed again.

Hundreds of people – fans, music critics, journalists – have had their say online and in print all week so there's very little to add.

Apart from this.

If you believe the Tobacco Control mantra that children must be protected from the sight of a cigarette pack or the influence of an actor smoking on screen (to list just two examples), how come thousands of people like me didn't experiment with drugs in our youth?

I was 14 when I first heard Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground.

The lyrics of 'Walk On The Wild Side' and 'Make Up' (a lesser-known but equally catchy song about New York transsexuals) may not have been fully understood by an innocent schoolboy living in Fife, but there was nothing ambiguous about a track called 'Heroin'.

There was no doubt about the meaning of 'I'm Waiting for the Man', 'Venus in Furs' and other songs either.

Did they encourage me to take drugs or dabble in S&M? What do you think?!

So my point is this: if you believe – like Tobacco Control campaigners – that teenagers are so easily influenced by what they see and hear, it follows that we should restrict or regulate the records they can be exposed to as well.

The same argument could be used in relation to the packaging.

I like a good album cover as much as anyone but I have never bought an LP, cassette or CD because I liked the cover.

That includes the 12" single of Blondie's breakthrough hit 'Denis'. I bought it because I loved the record. The cover was a bonus!

It's the music – not the packaging – that counts.

The same is true of cigarettes. It's not the pack that matters but the little sticks inside. No amount of 'research' can obscure that simple fact.

So why treat teenagers like idiots?

As my 16-year-old daughter often says to me, "I'm not a moron, Dad."

Comments

[The Blocked Dwarf]

"As my 16-year-old daughter often says to me, "I'm not a moron, Dad."

At which point, I trust, you admonish her for using prejudical language- for using a word that is 'abusive' and derogatory towards those in the community differently mentally able than herself....

As to your theory that song lyrics don't influence teen behaviour.. I have to say that my favourite songs as a teen were 'Lola' (Kinks) and '99 Luftballons' (Nena) and to this day I have never shaved my armpits and cherry KO-LA has never passed my lips! :P

[west2]

Eric Clapton's cover of Cocaine is another example. A nice Westcoast Swingable song heard at WCS events to this day. More danceable too :)

(btw If anybody is thinking of mailing themselves long distance to save on travel costs, I recommend listening to 'The Gift' on the VU White Light/White Heat album first.)

Of course some people have put their actions down to music and lyrics, Charles Manson and Helter Skelter being well known.

Manson listened to 'The Beatles' (aka White Album) version. Just as a precaution it is probably best to only listen to Helter Skelter (take 2) as it is very different to the one on the album. Please don't be tempted by the glitzy cover of 'The Beatles' to listen to the album version.

I bought Al Stewart's 'Year of the Cat' after hearing the last 2 minutes of 'Broadway Hotel' in W H Smith. The album had been well hyped prior to me hearing it and I had taken no notice. Clearly is was the music that influenced my purchase. Was it Portal 2 that influenced your daughter's choice of words though?

Have I bought an album because of the cover? I bought 'Blues Breakers' because, as I was flicking through a stack of records at a boot sale, I saw an album with John Mayall and Eric Clapton on the front. I hadn't listened to it, it was cheap and I knew what sort of music I was going to get. All the packaging really did was inform me about the contents. Had the packaging been plain I would still have bought the album. I passed by all the rest of the albums, some of which were very glitzy.

[Lyn Ladds]

I do think that packaging can draw you to something, but only if it contains the product you are looking for. However, ultimately it is what that particular product says it can do that matters and is what often leads to me leaving it on the shelf! If I do try it, I am usually disappointed and go back to my usual brand.

As far as smoking goes, as I did start at the age of 13 the price was the factor. I usually bought Sovereign, but tried No6 as they were also cheap but found I didn't like them, so stuck to Sovereign. As I got older I tried other brands because I could and new brands were coming out or I had tried one offered by someone else and liked it. It was never the packaging itself that drew me to it; cost was still a factor and I couldn't afford to spend out on something untried in case I didn't like it!