The psychology of music consumption
By Bryan Laprise
Local Journalism Initiative
Following previous articles written about various aspects of music, from the creative process to the evolution of release practices, another question arose: How much music is too much? As in- with Bluetooth headphones being so common, and it being so easy to listen to music on-the-go, is there a point at which it’s possible to listen to music too often to the point of it becoming detrimental to a person’s mental health?
One study from British researchers Katie Rose Sanfilippo, Neta Spiro, Miguel Molina-Solana and Alexandra Lamont revealed the average adult listens to music for 18 hours during the week. In fact, some 44 to 68 per cent of a person’s “waking hours” are soundtracked by music.
To understand the benefits and pitfalls of these habits, this reporter spoke to Catherine Malboeuf-Hurtubise, a professor of psychology at Bishop’s University. She broke down the effects it may have into a few categories, including the aspect of creating art and consuming it. The professor also specified that in terms of consequences on mental health, listening to music isn’t different from consuming other forms of art.
She mentioned that being creative has its share of positives for mental health. “It provides an alternative for emotional expression, essentially,” the professor shared during an interview. Unless you are singing, Malboeuf-Hurtubise explained, “if you’re playing a musical instrument, it provides an alternative means to communicate how you’re feeling without verbal expression.”
Being creative can even become therapeutic, she mentioned. It ends up being a way for a person to process how they’re feeling. As for the act of listening to music, actively listening to lyrics can resonate with people and lead to them feeling connected to the artists, in a way. Lyrical content can be beneficial for listeners, especially when a songwriter is capable of putting a certain feeling into words, which may help the person find a way to categorize or assess their own feelings or given situation.
“Sometimes, we struggle to put words on how we’re feeling, so that could be a way where we communicate how we’re feeling while using someone else’s creation,” said Malboeuf-Hurtubise.
On the flip side, songs that feature derogatory terms runs the risk of “normalizing or popularizing a discourse that would be frowned upon.” Despite these risks, the professor doesn’t believe this to be a generalized phenomenon.
She added that if music naturally lowers a person’s stress levels and bolsters their mental wellbeing, it will probably put them in a better state to decompress and enjoy the moment they are living through.
This decompressed state can place someone in a better position to study, work or focus on a given task, she explained. She gave the real-world example of elementary school teachers playing soft or classical music for students when they’re in a quiet moment or when they’re reading. “It’s really through the pathway of increasing wellbeing, releasing tension, and that puts you in a better state to focus more.”
To answer this article’s guiding question, the professor answered that in general, no, a person can’t really listen to too much music to the point of it becoming detrimental, though there may be a few exceptions.
“If your mood is very permeable to the music you’re listening to, listening to very aggressive music, if you are very permeable, could make you more aggressive, but that doesn’t happen for everyone,” she pointed out.
As for people who are used to listening to music all the time, this could lead to a difficulty with accepting silence, though this would be the same for people that prefer having white noise, such as having the TV on in the background. However, despite this potential challenge, she doesn’t qualify it as a necessarily negative impact of listening to music.
One negative consequence she outlined was for musicians and artists in highly competitive environments who undergo a great deal of stress. This concept applies to other high-performance fields for which people pursuing those paths undergo great deals of pressure, which may result in stress and other negative effects on wellbeing.
When asked what the healthiest practices would be regarding art consumption, Malboeuf-Hurtubise said that, “the healthiest practice would be: consume art. It’s easy in our fast-going, fast-paced lives to forget to consume art, because we’re occupied with work, our kids, routines and studies.”
This can come in many different forms such as going to a museum, watching a movie or other performances, listening or playing an instrument.
“All of these have documented benefits for mental health, youth and adults alike, similar to practicing sports, essentially. Sometimes, we need to force it in our routine to consume or be in contact with art, but it actually has a lot of positive impacts on one’s wellbeing.”
She mentioned that in recent years, some doctors have been giving less traditional forms of prescriptions to their patents. For some, this may be a nature prescription to try and get the person outside, but others may give cultural prescriptions which include consuming art.
“The key is to find one artistic medium that can speak to you and be in contact with that one. Same thing with music: there are many different types of music, but anyone can find something that fits their needs,” she concluded.