Culture
Teens, Music, and Mental Health
Music plays an increasingly important role in students' lives
| In class at Buffalo High School, it’s never out of the ordinary to see fellow classmates with earbuds in and tuned out of the lesson even when their phones are in the phone caddy. In fact, according to a 2019 study by Music Ally, approximately 82% of modern teens listen to music every day, whereas only around 50% of teens listened to music every day in 2000. Many people wonder how music affects teens differently if they are a boy or a girl. And do girls really connect more to music than boys? |
| In a poll of 15 students, all students had vastly different results to the two questions “How important is music in your daily life on a scale from 1-10?” and “What is more important in music, the sound or the lyrics?” |
| Boys made up the majority of answers rating 7 and or lower and also said the sound of a song was more important. Girls made up the majority of answers rating 7 or higher and also said the lyrics of a song were more important. This shows how girls tend to connect with music more and see it as more of a priority whereas boys mostly listen to just chill out and vibe. |
| A lot of teenagers like to use music in different ways, but the most common is definitely using music to drown out their feelings or change their mood. But how does music really affect us every day? |
| “I would feel normal” Seth Erickson ‘27 said if he couldn’t listen to music for a week, but Makayla Lee ‘28 said, “I would feel empty and would hear my thoughts too much.” |
| Many wonder if music can actually be a form of therapy, but it is very interesting when students give perspective on how they think music affects them compared to how a therapist would. |
| “I don’t believe music helps like a therapist because you need an actual therapist to talk through it with you because music is kind of just drowning in your sorrows.” Erickson said. “I feel like music can be a form of therapy, but that shouldn’t be your only thing you turn to.” Maryam Sonobol ‘29 said. |
| In the end, one conclusion can be made, and that is that everybody is affected by music in some way, it just depends on the person and how they use music to deal with life. |
Image courtesy of Bella Erickson | Hoofprint.net
