It is not often I get the chance to talk about the psychology of pop music, or rather the lyrics and the effect they have on young people. I must say at the outset that I'm not at all sure about the findings of a recent survey I've been studying, conducted over a period of 30 years. In short, it claims that late adolescents and college students are more narcissistic than ever before. This might well be true, and it might also be true that pop lyrics are becoming more self-absorbed, negative and violent. But this might reflect the psychology of the writers and performers more than their listeners. Also, as the writers of the study are alarmed to discover, this radical increase in narcissism comes with higher levels of loneliness and depression which, if you think about it for a second, is hardly surprising. Furthermore, they have detected a link with heightened anger and problems maintaining relationships.
Now, a couple of points: first, adolescents are pretty much self-absorbed anyway, but it's rarely pathological; also, you can_ read almost anything you want into song lyrics from any era. Again, people nowadays find it easier to express themselves emotionally than their counterparts did 30 years ago. Last, the survey suggests a complete personality change over the period covered.