The youth of many countries of the world prefers rock, loves, and plays it. And we, as representatives of the younger generation, also listen to rock. Young people listen to rock music during workouts, while commuting to College, or even during studying. Some state that it helps them to focus and be successful with writing assignments. As a student, I liked to write my paper in a complete silence. Why do most students adore rock music so much?
Relevance – rock music is the music of protest, it is an opportunity for early self-affirmation, which a teenager needs so badly.
The problem of developing the musical culture of the younger generation has always been relevant.
This problem is reflected in the works of philosophers, psychologists, and educators since Roman antiquity.
Psychological characteristics of a teenager.
Teenage years are an acute transition from childhood to adulthood, in which contradictory tendencies are prominently intertwined.
This period is characterized by the child’s entry into a qualitatively new social position, in which his conscious attitude towards himself as a member of society is formed.
The most important feature of adolescents is their gradual departure from direct copying of adult assessments to self-assessment, increasing reliance on internal criteria. The ideas based on which the criteria of self-esteem are formed in adolescents are acquired in the course of a special activity – self-knowledge. The main form of self-knowledge of a teenager is comparing himself with other people: adults, peers.
The behavior of a teenager is regulated by his self-esteem, and self-esteem is formed during communication with other people.
Communication with peers becomes of paramount importance at this age. Communicating with friends, younger teenagers actively master norms, goals, means of social behavior, develop criteria for evaluating themselves and others. The external manifestations of the communicative behavior of younger adolescents are very contradictory.
After analyzing the statements of many psychologists, we have identified the main psychological characteristics of a teenager:
The central neoplasm in teenagers is the “feeling of adulthood” – the attitude towards oneself as an adult, the desire to protect some aspects of one’s life from parental interference.
On the one hand, the desire to be the same as everyone at all costs, on the other, the egoistic orientation – the desire to stand out, to distinguish oneself at any cost, the catchiness of appearance, he is more significant than society; the struggle with authorities, generally accepted rules and common ideals – with the deification of random idols.
On the one hand, the desire to earn the respect and authority of comrades, to occupy a higher position in the class, on the other – flaunting their shortcomings,
The passionate desire to have a faithful close friend coexists in younger teenagers with a feverish change of friends, the ability to be instantly fascinated and just as quickly disappointed in the former.
Increased excitability, frequent mood swings, depressive unbalance, suicidal orientation,
maximalism, extreme arrogance, and unappreciative judgments about others.
It is during this period that intensive development of inner life takes place: along with friendship, relationships arise, fueled by confidence. The content of letters changes, which lose their stereotypical and descriptive character, descriptions of experiences appear in them; attempts are made to keep intimate diaries and the first infatuations begin.
The reason for psychological difficulties is related to puberty, it is uneven development in various directions. This age is characterized by emotional instability and sharp mood swings (from exaltation to depression). The most effective violent reactions occur when someone from others tries to infringe on the self-esteem of a teenager.
During adolescence, one’s musical taste develops, a certain range of musical interests and preferences appears, which gradually acquires stability, being the psychological basis of a teenager’s value orientations in later adult life.
A huge gap has formed between the music that sounds in the classroom in a general education institution and the music that exists outside the school. Modern music is perceived by teenagers as a separate area of musical art that exists autonomously. Thus, the thread of continuity in musical art has broken in the minds of teenage schoolchildren, and this, in turn, hinders the full development of their musical culture.
Of course, the person who understands and loves music more is the one who is more prepared for it, that is, the one who has a musical education and an interest in music. Its influence on the psyche and mood of people is huge. It is enough to point out that martial music that lifts people into battle is stronger than an oral order. Appropriate music is used as a therapeutic factor in many medical institutions.
Why do young people like rock? Why should we talk about rock as a single genre?
Music, built on the purity and power of sound that goes beyond easily assimilable and has a beneficial effect on a person, can and does have a sharply negative impact on the psyche, intelligence, and behavior of a person. And while musical education and innate human abilities perceive these sounds as irritating and even causing a painful condition, in people of low culture, with coarse character traits, prone to various anomalies, these sounds cause excitement reaching ecstasy.
+ One of the first distributors of rock music, Hal Sieger, wrote back in the 50s of the twentieth century: “I realized that this music penetrates young people because its rhythm coincides with the rhythms in their body. I knew that no one could knock this music out of them…” If you talk to teenagers about their musical tastes, it turns out that some of them are so passionate about rock music that they adopt the behavior of their idols.
+ Stuart Cadwallader, a psychologist at the University of Warwick, one of the initiators of the study of the “heavy metal phenomenon”, intends to present a report summarizing the conclusions of the work of a group of scientists at the conference of the British Psychological Society in York.
“There are certain stereotypes in society. So it is believed that if you are a highly intellectual person, then you listen to classical music, but now we have found out that this is not entirely true. Among gifted teenagers, the percentage of people who prefer classical metal is very high,” says Cadwallader.
+Intelligent teenagers who are ahead of their peers in mental development more often than others listen to heavy metal. This conclusion was reached by scientists from the University of Warwick (UK).
This music helps to cope with the difficulties of transition age, with the pressure exerted by the social sphere on gifted teenagers, helps to neutralize the consequences of social rejection of society.
On the one hand, rock is the mouthpiece of youth, in other words, the musical embodiment of contradictory moods that tear it apart and conflicts with generally accepted norms. On the other hand, rock music is one of the most powerful tools of show business, the purpose of which is commercial profit in the developing entertainment industry.
Such a dual nature of rock determines the “polyformity” and contradictions of the development of this musical genre. The whole history of the development of rock music consists of such cycles, at the beginning of which there has always been a protest, a riot, the birth of new values and new styles, the emergence of performers-the founders of the style and groups. This is followed by a process of gradual “domestication”, commercialization, sometimes simplification, and subsequently, the emergence of secondary rock bands.
Rock is not just a musical direction, it is a youth culture, a means of communication for young people, a mirror of society. It was created as a way of self-expression of youth, rebellion, and protest, denial, and revision of the moral and material values of the world. Rock music, as in a mirror, reflected the shocks that post-war generations of young people went through – spontaneous social performances
It is necessary to note the indisputability of the positive value of rock music. Rock music gave young people the opportunity to express themselves and express their demands and desires. Of course, rock had its drawbacks. Many fans of rock music took the permissiveness of rock culture, expressed in music, too literally. This is the addiction to drugs, and defiant behavior on the streets, and so on. Depending on the direction of rock music and the goals set by its performers, the composition can prompt deep reflection, or, on the contrary, plunge into a state of apathy, or cause an outbreak of aggression.
Conclusions:
1. Rock is needed – as a form of expression. Rock music is significant for teenagers because it reflects the peculiarities of adolescence through the theme of songs, musical material.
2. Rock music is needed to relieve aggression, negativity, negative emotions, adrenaline rush in young people – as if by psychological cleansing from accumulated negative energy.
3. Rock as an introduction to adult life is a reflection of social inequality in society.
4. Despite the conflicting opinions of psychologists, critics and parents, teenagers continue to listen and sing rock, as they find in it a reflection of their values.
