Impact of Punjabi Songs on University Students of Punjab

Ram Prashanth Kumar (PhD Research Scholar)

Department of Electronic Media & Mass Communication, Pondicherry University

Mayank Bhardwaj (Senior Research Fellow & Corresponding author)

Department of Mass Communication and Media Studies, Central University of Punjab

Email: mayankbharadwajmayukh@gmail.com

Dr. Paramveer Singh (Assistant Professor)

Department of Mass Communication and Media Studies, Central University of Punjab

Email: paramveer.singh@cup.edu.in

Abstract

Music is a form of art that can directly and indirectly convey thoughts and feelings. Sadness and anger are powerful emotions when expressed via music. Music has been used to heal mental and physical health situations for a long time. Sometimes, the visual industry is the mirror of society but sometimes it creates the society also. Music has both positive and negative effects. It has impact on education, psychological health, culture and education among others. In this study, the researcher, had tried to understand the impact of Punjabi songs on university students. The study collected data from different university students in the district of Bathinda. The universe of the study was the college-going students in the Bathinda district of Punjab. Three universities were selected for this study and from those three universities, students were selected randomly to explore the impact of Punjabi songs on youth.  Data was collected from 120 students. The study showed that students think the songs are for entertainment and important for relaxing the mind. The study also recorded the responses of students on the effect of Punjabi songs on education, culture, psychology, human behaviour and drug consumption attitudes.

Keywords: Punjabi songs, human behaviour, drug consumption, mental health, students

Introduction

Music is an art, which can express feelings and emotions directly and thoughts indirectly. Anger and Sadness are indeed strong emotions through music. In many parts of the world, especially Arabs used music to treat people with mental health conditions in hospitals in the thirteen centuries, which is also seen in any therapies. It is a scientific fact that the Power of sound is well-established (Eerola & Vuoskoski, 2012). Songs and music communicate with one through the lyrics or music in a way with their personal experiences or any other which have a powerful impact. Musicians are the vehicles to take the listeners on a ride with their songs and music, where audiences express their emotions throughout them (Juslin & Sloboda, 2001).

The uses of music are broad and complex, extending beyond emotional expression alone. For example, music has been used for centuries as humans have attempted for social bonding, forging group identities, and for healing (Mithen, 2006).  Singing involves the integration of melody and speech, music, and language, and therefore offers opportunities for expression that cannot be found in language alone. ‘It is not inconceivable,’ writes Webb (2010) that songs may have been the very first form of complex communication between groups of individuals. Based on this type of response, an antagonist/critic may suggest the contribution of songs (or indeed any creative performance of research) is that they are a stimulus that increases attention because they are a novelty. The lyrics of a song are, we suggest, critical as they provide the substance or direction to the story plot, conjuring events, and characters that help direct and focus the listener’s attention on particulars (Lamont & Webb, 2010).

The above literature establishes the emotional, moral, behavioural, and cultural impact of music on listeners. Thus, we can say something in songs and music can take a representation somehow into another realm for some audience members at least in terms of emotional engagement.

Of many genres in the music industry, rap has garnered the attention of youth. They are attracted to race, socioeconomic class, and the wealth that it gives as part of the teen identification part with lyrics appearing to be grounded in featuring the identity of the young groups. As youth look for models, they shape their behaviour by seeing them. The portrayal of the violent behaviours of the fictional characters of the leads of the songs, the youth think it as a cool attitude and imitates times (Anderson & Cavallaro, 2002). 

The Punjabi industry is very big with the production of lots of movies and albums each year. Any kind of media has a direct impact on its viewers whether it is visual or video. By some estimates, some 20 songs are conceived, composed, recorded, and released here each day.
There are some 400 registered labels, with some 20 leading the pack (Bhatt, 2018). The Punjabi songs have great representation and glorification of drugs, alcohol, and guns. Themes from contemporary Punjabi songs reflect the disintegration of traditional self-identity and communal relations. The songs’ new themes represent Punjab’s changing cultural landscape. There have previously been songs about birth and marriage, love, rural life, war and valour, and songs honouring historical heroes. However, these themes are currently being replaced by new ones, with the pop music industry offering completely original themes to its new audience as millennials increasingly reject the values of old society (Kaur, 2019).

Researchers studying how drugs are portrayed in rap videos discovered that children favourably associated drugs and substance use with these kinds of music videos. They proved that this positive correlation was significant and that it also had a positive correlation with aggressive behaviour (Chen et al., 2006). According to Russell et al.’s research, even a single exposure to this kind of content can have a lasting effect on young people who eventually develop a positive relationship with drug or alcohol abuse. This is because young people are more likely to find a music video relatable or to feel a sense of connection with it if they feel it is like their own experiences (Russell et al., 2017). The paper tries to explore the impact of Punjabi songs among youth on different parameters. 

Methodology

The study was conducted on the college-going students in the Bathinda district of Punjab. Three universities were selected for this study and from those three universities, students were selected randomly to explore the impact of Punjabi songs on youth.  The universities selected were Central University of Punjab, Adesh University, and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh Punjab Technical University. The students varied from undergraduate level to PhD. The sample size of this study was 120, 40 from each university. The sample size was determined by Israel’s table of sampling (Israel, 1992). 

Survey method was used for data collection and a questionnaire was designed. This questionnaire consists of mostly closed-ended questions, but it also consists of unstructured or open-ended questions so that the respondents can reciprocate towards a particular question with a broader view, especially when the question is related to some opinion.

The survey also included the demographics of the respondents. Throughout the questionnaire, the respondent was asked to tell the opinion of his/her as a listener or viewer of Punjabi songs. As the core of the study is to know the impact of the Punjabi songs, students were asked a few statements which tell the impact of the songs, to which the students agreed or disagreed it. The degree of acceptance or disapproval was scaled with a five-point Likert scale.

Results

Respondents were asked what Punjabi songs are to them in the first part of the questionnaire. What is a Punjabi song to you? This was an open-ended question; this question was asked to know how youth consider Punjabi songs. According to the answers given by the respondents, the answers are categorized into eight. Among these categories, the highest number of the sample as much as 44.2% have said that Punjabi songs are entertainment, whereas 20.8% and 15% of students said that they are stress buster and source of learning Punjabi language and culture, respectively. The detailed responses are shown in Table 1. The interesting finding from the question is that the youth have a positive attitude towards Punjabi songs. Students think the songs are for entertainment and important for relaxing the mind. 

VariablesPercentage of respondents.
Awareness about Trends (Lifestyle)1.7%
Enjoyment/Fun/Timepass/Entertainment44.2%
Nothing9.2%
Mood Changer/Stress Buster/Motivational20.8%
Source of learning Punjabi Culture, Literature15.0%
Music/Beat/Folk/Dance7.5%
Relaxation0.8%
Materialistic videos with expansive cars, girls, weapons and high-volume0.8%
Total100.0%
Table 1: What is a Punjabi song to a student?

For a student, education is very crucial. It is affected by many distractions but if it is affected negatively, it will not be beneficial. In response to the effect of Punjabi songs on education, 14.2% said highly agree, 35% said agree, 30.8% said neutral, 16.7% said disagree and 3.3% said highly disagree (Table 2).

VariablesPercentage of respondents
Highly agree14.2%
Agree35.0%
Neutral30.8%
Disagree16.7%
Highly Disagree3.3%
Total100.0%
Table 2: Effect of Punjabi songs on education.

Culture is different in different societies and it changes with time. Sometimes songs and films can cause an alteration in the culture. The next question was related to the change in the culture through such songs. 28.3% said highly agree, 52.5% said agree, 15%, 3.3% said disagree and 0.8% said highly disagree (Table 3).

VariablesPercentage of respondents
Highly agree28.3%
Agree52.5%
Neutral15.0%
Disagree3.3%
Highly Disagree0.8%
Table 3: Effect of Punjabi songs on culture.

On the question related to the effect of songs on youth psychology. Mental and physical well-being is equally necessary. 21.7% went highly agree, 42.5% opted to agree, 20.8% selected neutral, 10.8 selected disagree and 4.2% responded with highly disagree. 

VariablesPercentage of respondents
Highly agree21.7
Agree42.5
Neutral20.8
Disagree10.8
Highly disagree4.2
Total100.0
Table 4: Effect of Punjabi songs on pshycology.

Visual communication can also promote or encourage the use of drugs. In response to the question related to the promotion or encouragement of drugs among youth through Punjabi songs, 9.2% said highly agree, 30% said agree, 25.0% opted for neutral, 30.8% disagreed and 5.0% went highly disagree. 

VariablesPercentage of respondents
Highly agree9.2
Agree30.0
Neutral25.0
Disagree30.8
Highly disagree5.0
Total100.0
Table 5: Effect of Punjabi songs on drug consumption.

The research also tries to find out the effect on behaviour through Punjabi songs. In the response to the question of an increase in aggression after watching such songs, 11.7% said highly agree, 36.7% opted to agree, 31.7 went with neutral, 19.2% respondents selected disagree and 0.8% selected highly disagree. 

VariablesPercentage of respondents
Highly agree11.7
Agree36.7
Neutral31.7
Disagree19.2
Highly disagree0.8
Total100.0
Table 6: Effect of Punjabi songs on human behaviour.

Discussion

Punjabi songs are entertaining, educating and helping people through their lives. They attract every age group in the region. People enjoy the songs when they are playing. The rise in the number of artists and the number of songs released will tell the story of its growth, not only in the region but also over the country and the world audience. Punjabi songs are an inherent part of the Punjabi culture and day-to-day life. People around play the songs when they have time while driving, at the gyms, at the ground time and even at the times of sleeping. They have gone into the minds of people, which cannot be ignored (Judge, 2024).

The result of this study aligned with previous studies. The respondents responded that the music is a source of entertainment and a stress buster for them. Punjabi music is also a source to relax the listeners. The music and songs give emotional and mental benefits to the listeners and audience. J Hamilton mentions in their study that music and songs are very helpful for emotional support and for leaving stress behind (Hamilton et al., 2013). The respondents showed a positive response regarding the effects of songs on study and education. More than 60% aligned with this response whereas around 20% stated that there is no effect of songs on the study. The songs also hinder the psychology of the listeners which was again established in this research as in previous researches.  The lyrics impact psychology very much. Words associated with antisocial behavior and self-focus became more common throughout time, while words associated with other-focus, social interactions, and good feelings were less common (DeWall et al., 2011). 

Punjabi songs are addictive to the present youth, and they listen/watch songs for an average of 1-2 hours a day. The youth are seeking changes in the wrong trends promoting are giving extra leverage with the songs. They are hoping for content, which respects women, with no violence and liquor in the songs. Women are in search of those songs which can be seen where they are not treated as objects. Youth also observe the trends of caste-ism promoted by the songs; they want to see Punjabi songs become caste free (Legg, 2020).

Music and language are evolving and changing through time. New influences come with modern times. There could be a possible change in Punjabi music, but the essence and spirit, it has as in old times will never fade away. Punjabi music has a lot of Passion and Spirit that can never go away.

Conclusion 

Lots of research has proven that songs impact their listeners or viewers in their lives. The same is agreed by the students in the study. About sixty-four per cent of students agree that these songs are impacting their psychology. Students have agreed that they become aggressive after watching/listening to Punjabi songs. Even though there is criticism of Punjabi songs, on average, youth watch/listen to them for nearly two hours per day. Youth get motivated listening/watching the songs. The increase in the business of Punjabi songs and the craze around the world the Punjabi songs has proven the youth have a positive attitude towards them. Students agreed that the songs do impact them in situations but most of them didn’t think they have negative impacts. But they did have hope of change in lyrics Videos and music variations. Youth learn a lot of things from Punjabi songs, the culture, the language, the trends, the fashion, and the warmth of the music.