Headphones In

From the grocery store, to your mom’s car, to elevators; it’s everywhere. Music is a key feature in many lives. However, it seems to have a major effect on teens’ lives and emotions than adults and younger children. 

According to the Impact of Music on Children and Youth by the American Academy of Pediatrics, 85% of 8 to 18-year-olds listen to up to 6.5 hours of music a day, which affects their moods (due to the way teenage brains form and heightened hormones). “I use music to deepen my emotions,”  Sophomore Fiona McGinnis said. “For example, I have a playlist called ‘For Crying’ that I use when I am crying so that I can cry more and just let it all out. I also listen to a lot of Harry Styles no matter what mood I am in.”

Freshman Calin Donaldson stated that music affects his life on the daily and he tries to listen to music as much as he can. “[I listen to music] every chance I get because I like listening to music when I do stuff because it makes things more interesting. [It’s] like watching a TV show in my brain,” Donaldson said.

Sophomore Anna Johnston agreed. “Music is a way for me to stay connected and happy while getting all the stuff I need to get done done.”

The world’s favorite song right now, according to the Billboard Charts, is “The Box” by Roddy Rich.  It’s a rap song, which makes sense based on the way music culture is centered right now, with a variety of rap songs topping the charts almost year round since 2018. 

McGinnis’ favorite song at the moment is “Sunflower Vol. 6” by Harry Styles. She chose the song due to it’s happy and sweet vibes, and said that it makes her smile and sing along loudly. 

“Come Dance With Me” by Teen Idols is Freshman Maya Banks’ favorite song. This song was more on the punk side of things than really anybody else interviewed was listening to. “I’m not sure why it’s my favorite, it’s just really good,” said Banks.

Johnston and Donaldson gave answers stating that they both just listened to too much to pick a favorite. However, all were very clear when asked what type of music is not their favorite and didn’t carry their favorite vibes best. Country music was chosen unanimously as the least favorite, this being attributed to its bad vibes,and how it doesn’t help with moods or focus and being all-around useless when it comes to being music. Many people enjoy country music but the average RV student is assumed to enjoy other genres such as rap or indie. “Country music just doesn’t seem very fitting for our student population. I think a typical guy or girl here at RV would probably listen to rap music, it’s more typically fitting for our schools’ personality and place in the world.” stated McGinnis.

People spend their whole lives developing these opinions and hearing millions of songs shaping their music taste, moods, and even personality into how it is today.

As Calin said, “Music is really good. If you haven’t listened to it I would 100% recommend it. A lot.”