Generation Gap Widens; Films, Songs Don't Help

Insight on the News, June 7, 1999 by Cheryl Wetzstein

Things haven't changed much since parents asked, `What's the matter with kids today?.' in Bye Bye Birdie. A study finds parents mere perplexed than ever about the younger generation.

American adults remain uneasy about the current generation of children, according to a new study by Public Agenda, a New York research firm. More than half of adults think "kids these days" are lazy, rude or spoiled. In one particularly harsh finding, 58 percent of adults say that the next generation will be of little consequence to the nation -- or will make America "a worse place" to live.

Irresponsible parents, not economic or social stresses, are the culprits, say half the adults surveyed for Kids These Days '99: What Americans Really Think About the Next Generation. The report, funded by the Advertising Council and Ronald McDonald House Charities, includes some good news, however. An overwhelming majority of adults -- 89 percent -- believe that "given enough attention and the right kind of guidance, almost all teenagers can get on track." Only 7 percent of adults think that "some teens are beyond the point where they can be helped."

The top three remedies, adults say, are better public schools, more after-school activities and flexible work hours so parents can be with their children. These views, collected by telephone from 1,005 respondents, mirror a similar survey taken in 1996, notes Public Agenda Executive Director Deborah Wadsworth.

"It was very distressing [to see that] concerns have not diminished, even though we are living in what appears to be very prosperous times," says Wadsworth. "They don't derive from screaming headlines or immediate tragedy" like the recent shootings in Littleton, Colo.

Most Americans fault modern parents as materialistic and irresponsible. Nevertheless, a large majority -- 78 percent -- of respondents agree that "it's harder to be a parent today," listing social problems such as substance abuse, gangs, rampant sex and violence in movies and TV and inferior public schools.

As it did in 1996, the new Public Agenda survey includes the views of more than 300 teenagers who present a rosier view of their lives. Large majorities of teens say they have trustworthy parents, adults and friends, and 66 percent say that "faith in God" is important to them. Fifty percent of teens are "usually happy," although 42 percent are "bored" almost every day.

But even teens register disappointment with their parents: In 1996, 81 percent of teens said they could "always trust my parents to be there for me when I need them." Today, only 72 percent of teens feel that way.

More bad news: A separate study of 200 films and 1,000 songs seems to confirm the popular perception that U.S. movies and music are full of "pot, booze and cigarettes." Drugs and alcohol also appear in five popular genres of music, but especially in rap.

"Parents need to be more aware of what their kids are watching and listening to" said Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, who joined Nelba Chavez, head of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in releasing the report, Substance Use in Popular Movies & Culture.

The $400,000 study, conducted by researchers at Stanford University, analyzed the frequency and nature of substance use in the top rental movies and songs of 1996 and 1997. The 200 movies include everything from the R-rated murder-mystery Seven to Disney's G-rated 101 Dalmatians. The 1,000 songs cut across the genres of country-western, alternative rock, Hot 100, rap and heavy metal. Among the findings:

* 93 percent of movies showed alcohol products, 89 percent showed tobacco products and 22 percent showed illicit drugs, most often marijuana.

* 5 percent of major movie characters used illicit drugs, 25 percent used tobacco and 65 percent used alcohol.

* Among movies with drug scenes, 15 percent had "anti-use" statements and 15 percent had "pro-use" statements.

* Among song lyrics, 18 percent referred to illicit drugs and 17 percent referred to alcohol. Tobacco rarely was mentioned.

Specifically, more than 60 percent of rap songs referred to drugs, compared with 10 percent in alternative rock, Hot 100 or heavy metal. Barely 1 percent of country-western songs referred to drugs. Rap also was the leader in alcohol references, with drinking mentioned in 47 percent of songs. Country-western came in second with 13 percent.

McCaffrey and lead researcher Donald F. Roberts declined to link substance use in the popular media with use by young people. "There is no single cause for any human behavior," says Roberts. But officials agree that the mass media and the cultures they spawn can be powerful influences on some children.