iPods implicated in promiscuity - claim

A US study claims that teens whose iPods are full of music with sexual lyrics start having sex sooner than those who prefer other songs.

The study by the research outfit Rand, has apparently discovered that a lot of modern popular beat combos release tunes with sexual lyrics.

When installed in an iPod these influence teen behaviour, the study claimed. If a teen listens to music where men are depicted as "sex-driven studs" and women are sex objects, the tunes are more likely to trigger early sexual behaviour, such as premarital hand-holding and pecks on the cheek.

The survey was based on telephone interviews with 1,461 participants aged 12 to 17. Apparently most participants were virgins when they were first questioned in the post iPod days of 2001. Follow-up interviews were done in 2002 and 2004 to see if music choice had influenced subsequent behaviour.

Apparently those who listened to aggressive sexual music had some sexual experiences. Rand seemed to have ruled out being called up by strangers on the phone to ask about sexual experiences as another causative factor. It is not clear how the humble iPod got named and shamed in the study. Apple have not commented.

Full details here. µ