About thirty years ago depression was categorized as an adult disorder. The low mood experienced by adolescents was considered a normal part of teenage mood swings. Many studies have proven otherwise. There are still those few people who would still reject the reality of adolescent disorder. They would also reject the fact that adolescent depression is related to a wide range of outcomes such as social and educational impairments as well as mental and physical health problems later on in their life (see Thapar, Collishaw, Pine, & Thapar, 2012). Depression is a very common psychiatric disorder. The symptoms are low mood, low energy, poor concentration, poor self-care and low self-esteem. (Moussavi et al. 2007, Maratos et al. 2008, WHO 2009).

Music is a major key in the socialization of adolescents (Roberts & Christensen 2001). According to Roberts and Christensen (2001) listening to popular music is a part of the norm for growing children. Music is one of the many things that entertain people while distracting them from unwanted issues.

According to time.com, Dr. Brian Primack ran an experiment that showed that teens who listened to music more often instead of watching television and reading books were at a higher risk of experiencing depression compared to teens who listens to music less frequently. Another study, has examined the effects that music has on depression in older people (Chan et al. 2009, Guetin et al. 2009, Moradipanah et al. 2009). There has also been research done on how music affects the school work of students (La Voie JC, Collins B, 1975).

Currently there is no study that has been carried out to investigate the effects of “trap” music on depression in adolescents. Also, there is no study found that focuses on a specific ethnic group. A twelve week study will be conducted to explore the cumulative effect “trap” music has on depression in African American adolescents. This study will prove that “trap” music causes African American adolescent to become depressed.

The cognitive process I am studying is attention. I want to know the effect of music on attention. According to the department of education the graduation rate for high school students is very high. What could be the reason for this? What are students doing now that students before were not doing. There is no research being done on the new type of music that is out. For example, the artist Future brings a new meaning to the hip hop culture and music in general. There has been research done on how music affects performance. But I want to focus on one artist in particular. Future seems to be the only artist that young people seem to listen to. They listen to him when they are sad or happy. This artist has a great effect on people. I want to see if his music effects people’s performance. This project interests me because I also listen to future. He is all I listen to. When I listen to him I seem to be more focused on what I am doing. When talking among my peers recently one of them mentioned that they even walk differently when they listen to Future. I want to find out how much of an impact his music has on young people. It is very clear that Future has a big impact on music. Like people, say music is the key to mind. Music plays a huge role in the way we think and act. I want to see how Future’s music effects attention.

The game I played this week is called farm blitz. The objective of the game is to earn money to pay off your debt and keep your farm. The player earns money by matching three or more plants in a row. The job is to also make sure that none of the plants spoil and the rabbits don’t eat all of the plants. I enjoyed the game at first but the more I played it the more bored I got. The game was listed under the 18 and older category but seems as though it can be meant for children of the age 7-8. The game was very simple. It did not take much time to complete the game. You do not need much skill to play this game. The game was made to teach good saving habits and introduce the harsh realities of debt. At the end of the game, by the creditors taking your farm because you failed to pay off your debt. No it actually shows you can happen if you don’t take care of your debt. One thing I disliked was the fact that the game did not acquire levels for the player to move up in. I believed that would have contributed to the fun aspect of the game. The game was also slow. I would have liked for the game to move a little faster. The game system took a little while to acknowledge the match. That slowed the game down and contributed to its lack of fun. Overall, the game was very educational.

There has been many times where we have been put in a sticky situation. We are then left clueless on what to do next. We usually ask ourselves, should I or should I not? We have no one to ask, we just have ourselves to rely on. This is where our good decision making skills take place. The game titled “Digital Compass” does exactly that. This game test how good we are at making the right decision. This game was originally created for children of the ages six to nine. This game introduces the player to real-life situations. It shows the player what happens when you make both good and bad decisions. Good decisions lead to good outcomes while bad decisions lead to bad ones. The player had eight characters to choose from. Each character has a different storyline. After you finish the story line, you then have the option to complete a game that resembles a game board. At this point of the game you are given points for making good decisions and you lose points for making bad ones. This game takes place in a digital world called “Anywhere”. As we know, todays world revolves around social media. This game teaches the player what to do and what not to do while on social media. It also teaches the player how to interact with others and how to deal with bullies. I love how the game keeps the player entertained. The game is very realistic. It shows real life scenarios without jeopardizing the players reputation. Instead, it gives a real feel of what can happen if you choose to make the wrong decision.

This week I played a game called Re-Mission: Nanobot’s Revenge. I was able to download this game from the apple store. The purpose of this game is to illustrate real life treatments used to fight cancer. My mission was to fire targeted treatments at the growing tumors in order to prevent them from entering the blood stream. This game was very fun yet educational. I love the fact that I never got bored from playing it. I felt like I was completing an actual mission. It felt as though I was actually saving someone’s life. I enjoyed the fact that the game showed a picture of the human body that pointed out the location of the different organs. Even when I had to defeat the tumors, the battlefield was a real life bloodstream. I give this game two thumbs up. I enjoyed every aspect of it.