Appendix A: Adolescents, Movies, and Music

Teenagers are major consumers of entertainment media, and so it is widely believed that they may be influenced by the depiction of substances—alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs—in film and music. The following statistics indicatethe importance that movies and music play in the lives of young people:

Movies and Home Video

• U.S. movie box office receipts totaled $6 billion in 1997. Youth ages 12 to 20 purchase 26 percent of movie tickets, although they make up only 16 percent of the population.

• Ninety percent of 12- to 20-year-olds report going to the movies frequently or occasionally.

• Moviegoing is considered an "in" activity among 92 percent of teens.

• Sixty-three percent of teens ages 9 to 17 say that it is important to see the latest movies.

• Watching a video is America’s favorite leisure activity, with Americans spending $7.4 billion on videotape rentals and $7.6 billion on videotape sales in 1997.

• Sixty-two percent of youth ages 9 to 17 say they watch a video at least once a week.

• Seventy-nine percent of teens ages 10 to 17 have watched an R-rated movie with their parents on video or in a theater.

Music

• In 1997, Americans spent $12 billion on music.

• Listening to music is students’ number one non-school activity: 87 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds report listening to music after school, and two-thirds name music as a hobby.

• Adolescents spend between 4 and 5 hours a day listening to music and watching music videos.

• American teenagers listen to an estimated 10,500 hours of rock music between the 7^th and 12^th grades—just 500 fewer hours than they spend in school over 12 years.

• In the last 3 months, 71 percent of teens purchased at least one full-length CD, 33 percent bought a CD single, and 35 percent bought a full-length cassette.

• More than one-third of youth between the ages of 12 and 14 watch music videos daily.

• About 90 percent of teens report knowing many or all the lyrics of their favorite songs.