Many people believe that modern music can have a negative impact on the young. Others believe the effect of modern music is positive. Discuss both these views and give your opinion. Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.You should write at least 250 words.

In the last years, with the introduction of new music genres, popular music has undoubtedly changed. The question arises whether this development affects the general youth negatively or in a beneficial way. Whereas many topics covered in the lyrics of modern songs are certainly questionable, I hold the view that young people gain ample emotional benefits from listening to popular music. There can be no doubt that a striking proportion of modern music lyrics contain sexism, drug abuse or glorification of violence. As young adults are respectively prone to a rebellious mind set and open to be influenced by role models, such as popular singers, some might voice concerns considering youngsters exposed to such input forming offensive opinions and learning derogatory language. However, this argument becomes less relevant when one takes a teenager's focus on rhythm and melody into account. In my opinion, adolescents, while undeniably enjoying songs of questionable content, are primarily drawn towards the overall sound of an artist or a music genre rather than the song texts. Therefore, the mentioned risk can't be applied to the vast majority of the youth. Additionally, it is probably true to say that music has the ability to lift negative emotions. Research strongly suggests listening to one's favourite music heavily triggers the reward system of the brain, which creates a feeling of happiness and satisfaction. While relevant for all ages, this effect is especially beneficial for teenagers as they are constantly exposed to a mixture of stress and strong emotions. For instance, school stress, the pressure of choosing a career or going through the first ever break up. To conclude, pop-music plays an indispensable supporting role in the young individual's lives and its possibilities of alleviating stress and emotional pain outweigh the respectively low chance of a harmful impact.