Identity formation: young adult issues in contemporary popular songs

Abstract

As a nation, it is important that young people in the country have a sense of personal identity before their sense of national identity can emerge. In this paper, I will discuss how songs can be used for helping students in their identity formation. Songs are popular source of entertainment and their popularity is evident among adolescents and young adults. The contemporary popular songs range from rhythm and blues to hip-hop, alternative rock, techno and many other sub-genres. Some of these sub-genres have been criticised for their strong influence, generally considered negative by adults, upon the younger generation. It is the view of this writer that it will be inappropriate to hold such a view of all popular songs as there are many songs which are of positive value and they speak to young people about their concerns. In this paper I examine issues in contemporary popular songs. The paper will focus on the relevance of the lyrics to the adolescents and young adults' lives, in particular, how songs can affect their identity formation. My analysis will be based on songs that I have used in my General English Language Proficiency classes in New Era College. I will discuss students' response to songs and highlight how they related their personal experiences, especially to the process of identity formation to the songs that were used in their lessons.