Is it video games — or just plain hormones — that make teens reckless drivers?

A new study finds that kids who play video games that “glorify” reckless driving are risky drivers in reality. What if it’s the other way around?

You can tell the universities are back in session, because suddenly video-game studies are hitting the news again. This time, a cadre of researchers at Dartmouth College, led by Jay G. Hull, looked at the relationship between gamers who play
video games that “that glorify reckless driving” and their real-life driving habits.

Over a four-year period, Hull and his team worked with 5,000 teens aged 14 to 18. Half of the teens said their parents let them play M-rated games; the others weren’t allowed. Once the kids turned 16 and were old enough to drive, the researchers asked about their behind-the-wheel behavior:

A quarter of them answered “yes” when asked if they engaged in any unsafe driving habits, the researchers said. By the final interview, 90 percent said they engaged in at least one unsafe driving habit, including speeding (78 percent), tailgating (26 percent), weaving in and out of traffic (26 percent), and running red lights (20 percent).

The study found that playing mature-rated, risk-glorifying games was associated with an increase in self-reported risky driving, as well as sensation seeking and rebelliousness — qualities measured by the teens’ rating of themselves with regard to such statements as “I like to do dangerous things” and “I get in trouble at school.” And higher rankings in thrill seeking and rebelliousness were directly linked to risky driving habits, car accidents and being stopped by police, according to a statement from the American Psychological Association (APA)

However, statistics from the AAA Foundation (PDF) show that teenage drivers — particularly males — are already the most aggressive drivers on the road:

When analyzed with respect to age, the proportion of fatal-crash-involved drivers for whom any potentially-aggressive actions were coded decreased steadily with increasing age from the teenage years through about age 60, before increasing again. For example, 58.8 percent of 16-year-old drivers, 35.3 percent of 35-year-old drivers, and 26.5 percent of 60-year-old drivers had any potentially-aggressive actions coded.

There are a number of possibilities here, very few of which play into the old Jack Thompson malarkey that blames Grand Theft Auto for everything that’s wrong with kids today. There is absolutely a subset of teens who engage in riskier behavior; when Jeffrey Jensen Arnett studied metal fans in the 1980s and 1990s, he found tons of them listening to heavy-metal music. But, as with metal, I suspect it’s that thrill-seeking teens love intense experiences, and seek out those experiences in fantasy — such as video games — as well as reality.

In other words, it could be the love of risk that makes kids interested in high-stakes driving games — not the other way around. And, as long as these kids are playing out their wishes on the screen, they’re not engaging them behind the wheel, an option that keeps them much safer in the long run.

I’d also like to see some side-by-side driving statistics for teens who play these games and teens who don’t. I suspect they’re actually much more similar than Hull found — and that the problem is adolescence and hormones, not video games.

But Hull doesn’t think so. In fact, he takes it to a very slippery-slope place:

“Playing these kinds of video games could also result in these adolescents developing personalities that reflect the risk-taking, rebellious characters they enact in the games and that could have broader consequences that apply to other risky behaviors such as drinking and smoking.”

All right, readers: do you play games where reckless driving is rewarded? Why do you like such games? Does it influence your real-life driving? How so?

Want to grow a headbanger or a heavy-metal band? This map will show you the best climates.

This map shows concentrations of metal bands per capita around the world. (Click for larger version.)

This awesome map (sourced mainly from metal-archives.com) has been circulating on the Internet for the past few months, but it wasn’t until recently that someone put it into context. Richard Florida, a writer for the Atlantic and a researcher for Rentfrow, had this to say about the places were metal bands (and fans) might congregate:

Several psychological studies link heavy metal to personality types that are drawn to “intense and rebellious” music (which includes rock and alternative as well as heavy metal). …

My own research with Rentfrow and others shows that intense music preferences (including preferences for heavy metal music) are geographically strongest in the upper plains states of Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska as well as New Mexico, Nevada and Missouri in the United States. The study also found preferences for heavy metal strongest in states with large proportions of white residents.

Although the map doesn’t have a state-by-state breakdown for metal fans (alas), his descriptions of the plains states in particular match closely with other parts of the world with high concentrations of metal bands, particularly Scandinavia. Heck, even Canada has more metal bands than the US, and if any part of North America is most like Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska, it’s Canada.

So, what does this tell us about metal fans that can help us understand why they like the music so much? As mentioned, headbangers tend to be more on the intense side of the personality spectrum — something Jeffrey Jensen Arnett discussed in his groundbreaking book Metalheads. We can also speculate that kids who grow up in parts of the world with extreme weather are probably stuck indoors more — giving them fewer physical outlets for that intense, rebellious feeling. They can channel that energy into any number of things, but listening to metal is one outlet. Making it is another, and as we can see from the maps, the more extreme the weather (in the developed world), the more likely folks are to play this music.

But don’t just take it from me. Recently, a metalhead in Wisconsin (not a plains state, but not far from it) urged people to tune in to heavy metal’s finer qualities. In it, he describes the point of all that screaming so many people find unlistenable — even disturbing — as well as the relentless pace of the music.

Though the origins of screaming have been mostly lost to the ages, it was perhaps popularized by the aptly nicknamed Screamin’ Jay Hawkins of “I Put a Spell on You” fame. Other blues artists adopted the technique both for volume and emotional reasons. These justifications persist today for many bands that use harsh vocals; just as a singer such as Christina Aguilera may use crescendos to emphasize strong emotion and feeling in lyrics, metal vocalists may utilize screaming. This is not true in all cases, as screaming has largely become the norm in aggressive music styles. Still, aside from expressing emotion, screaming has another use: vocal instrumentation.

Screaming, when used as an instrument, reinforces or complicates rhythms in music. Perhaps the vocalist screams to match percussion strikes, bass lines or rhythm guitar playing, or perhaps the vocalist’s cadence further adds to the chaotic cornucopia of rhythms that populate intense, heavy music.

Whatever the application, listeners can think of screaming as a kind of loud poetry.

What do you think, metal fans? Do certain parts of the globe lend themselves more to headbanging? Do certain types of people tend to live in those places, or is it the geography that makes the metalhead?

Study: heavy metal makes you suicidal, after all

In 1990, Judas Priest was sued for allegedly inspiring the suicides of two teen fans. They were cleared of all charges. Was the judge wrong? Photo by Flickr user Fernando Catalina Landa.

By now, the old moral panic over heavy metal and suicidal behavior is so old-hat that it’s almost laughable, right? Bands like Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne were taken to court over allegations that their music had inspired suicide attempts among fans, but the judges in those cases found them innocent of all charges. Heavy-metal researchers like Jeffrey Jensen Arnett have gone deep into the subculture to find out why some kids love metal so much — and found that the music provides solace for all kinds of listeners. Sure, depression, suicide, and dark music sometimes go hand in hand, but it’s usually the depression that came first.

Not so fast, according to University of Melbourne researcher Katrina McFerran. She has just published a new study claiming heavy metal causes depression and suicidal feelings in listeners. (Editor’s note: the link to the news item about the study lists it as number 666! Coincidence?) Since the actual study appears to be unavailable, we’re going to just have to go on what it says in the press release:

“The mp3 revolution means that young people are accessing music more than ever before and it’s not uncommon for some to listen to music for seven or eight hours a day,” she said.

“Most young people listen to a range of music in positive ways; to block out crowds, to lift their mood or to give them energy when exercising, but young people at risk of depression are more likely to be listening to music, particularly heavy metal music, in a negative way.

“Examples of this are when someone listens to the same song or album of heavy metal music over and over again and doesn’t listen to anything else. They do this to isolate themselves or escape from reality.

“If this behavior continues over a period of time then it might indicate that this young person is suffering from depression or anxiety, and at worst, might suggest suicidal tendencies.”

Whenever I like a song — whether it’s a heavy metal song or not — I do tend to listen to it a lot. I think this is pretty normal among people who passionate about music (as opposed to folks who simply have a passing interest in it). I clearly remember listening to Duran Duran’s “Save A Prayer” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” on endless loop. And, yes, I’ve done this with plenty of heavy-metal songs, too. It wasn’t to block anything out. It was because the song touched me.

Now, McFerran may have a point. Some kids who are already depressed may also listen to the same piece of music over and over, to find comfort in it. But she suggests that this behavior on its own is worrisome and might mean a kid is at risk of suicide. There are already well established warning signs of teen suicide, and “listening to heavy metal on endless loop” isn’t one of them. Generally, people listen to music to make them feel better. Even if it doesn’t seem on the surface that they feel better, it’s keeping them from feeling worse, and that’s an important distinction.

What I’m getting at is: there may be a correlation between depression, suicidal feelings, and love of heavy metal (although fans of any kind of music are certainly susceptible), but that correlation doesn’t suggest that heavy metal is causing those feelings — or that it’s making them worse. But McFerran is suggesting it does, and that’s like suggesting Bic Macs cause bank robberies simply because some bank robbers have eaten them every day for several weeks. (If anything could be said for such eating habits, you could say it causes you to make documentaries. Right?)

At any rate, I suspect McFerran is seeing things a bit backwards — and putting out information that might frighten, rather than assist, parents.

Metal soothes the savage beast

Australian great white sharks relaxed in the presence of speakers playing AC/DC during a recent experiment. Photo by Flickr user 126 Club.

Scientists haven’t done very many studies involving humans and heavy metal, but something compelled a team of researchers down under to play a few heavy metal tunes for some great white sharks. Specifically, the tunes included “Back in Black” and “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC.

Now, it’s been a longstanding misconception that heavy metal makes its listeners unruly, wild, aggressive, and ready for risk. There’s even this idea that if you play heavy metal for plants, they’ll die. (Mythbusters disproved this; in fact, plants exposed to extreme death metal grow better than plants exposed to other kinds of music.)

So what did the sharks do when they heard some of the biggest hits to come out of Australia?

After [tour operator Matt] Waller played the songs using underwater speakers, the sharks became “more investigative, more inquisitive and a lot less aggressive.”

“They actually came past in a couple of occasions when we had the speaker in the water and rubbed their face along the speaker which was really bizarre,” he said.

Now, the sharks couldn’t actually hear the songs, but they could feel the vibrations — vibrations that would feel differently, and probably move at a faster tempo, than other types of music. Alas, the study doesn’t seem to show that the sharks were given the chance to hear, say, Celine Dion or Beethoven, so we don’t know how they’d respond. But it’s interesting nonetheless that one of nature’s most feared animals apparently has a soft spot for electric guitars.

In his book, Metalheads, Jeffrey Jensen Arnett found that metal had similar effects on human listeners, who reported that the music kept them calm, helped them unwind, and prevented them from seeking trouble. What they wanted was intensity — intense music that matched the intensity of their own temperaments.

Many lives flourish in the presence of this music. If they’re not flourishing, it’s because of something else in their lives — and in spite of heavy metal.

In the spirit of relaxation and good health, here’s a tune that plants, humans, and sharks can appreciate, Accept’s “Fast as a Shark”:

Listening to teens, for a change

Photo by Flickr user Mavis.

“Because teenage years are one of the most stressful times in a person’s life, having the ability to escape with the aid of music is extremely important to myself as well as many other teens,” a young writer named Alexa wrote recently at the Radical Parenting blog. “There are various genres to fit any taste and mood you are feeling and songs that can relate to nearly anything you are going through. Lyrics can often resonate with a person’s situation and even help them find their identity.”

For decades, a segment of the adult, “responsible” world has railed against heavy-metal music. This genre is one of the most suspect: some people think it’s capable of making teens commit violence against themselves or others, or of leading teens into evil. By contrast, author Jeffrey Jensen Arnett found that metal soothes some teens’ souls, particularly those with a high need for intensity. Unlike many adults, Arnett actually asked teens why they like the music so much, and then he listened to their answers.

And yet, teen metal fans still feel like their favorite music is misunderstood, so the war isn’t over yet. Alisa Boswell, a young New Mexico woman, recently wrote a piece for the Portales News-Tribune asking people to give heavy metal a chance:

There is a very distinct passion and creativity to heavy metal music that I am admiring more each time I hear it. And let’s face it, whether you like it or not, you can’t beat the instrumentals in heavy metal. You don’t get more variety than that.

If you have an appreciation for music but don’t care too much for metal, I highly recommend giving it a chance. If you appreciate music, you will appreciate heavy metal instrumentals and lyrics (if maybe not the screaming).

Another teen girl recently wrote to teen advice columnist Dr. Robert Wallace to convince him metal isn’t so bad:

Their lyrics are very deep; it’s a definite form of poetry. Such issues as conformity and human biases are explored, and the songs are sung with passion, not merely blind anger. In my friend’s valedictory speech, he actually quoted from a heavy metal song. (His speech was about thinking for yourself rather than letting others do it for you.) It was an excellent speech and the quote fit perfectly; no one would have been able to guess that his “modern poet” was, in fact, Metallica.

It’s easy to believe that teens are young and so malleable that the wrong message can lead them astray. The teens I’ve talked to are anything but; they know what they need psychologically, and they know what they can and can’t handle. And exploring those boundaries is important work. Sure, a parental guiding hand now and then doesn’t hurt. But kids know what they’re doing.

A question for readers today: Did your parents question the content of your favorite teen music? What did they say? How did you respond to that? Do you think, in hindsight, that you were right — or were they right?