Music Banter - Why do teenager listen to pop music?

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Yeah, I wouldn't say that happiness was the cause for me getting into metal, or extreme metal for that matter. I think it's more about the outsider culture for most kids. Those who strive to fit in aren't going to pay any attention to loud, abrasive music that isn't being played on the radio because the majority of "popular" kids aren't. Whereas someone who already considers themselves to be an outsider might use the metal scene as a way to connect with other outcasts like themselves.

Or, there's always the chance that the music just appeals to the person, because we're in the age of the internet where you can easily find just about any genre of music you're looking for within a few clicks. That makes it fairly easy to get into any style, but of course pop is still at the forefront of pop culture.

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Originally Posted by TechnicLePanther (Post 1684410)

I disagree with William. Happiness overall has nothing to do with it. For instance, the 4th, 6th and 8th happiest nations, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, also boast the most metal bands per capita, averaging around 40 per every 100,000 people.

I think it's not that they like it because they're teenagers, it's that they like it because it's what they're exposed to. Their parents listen to it on the radio, and therefore they listen to it on the radio. Usually as they get older, they just have more time to discover new music and find their own personal niche. It's just like how older people have a tendency towards doo-wop and rockabilly. This is what they were listening to in their formative years, and therefore it holds a special place in their hearts. Same thing for pretty much everyone on this forum as well.

Hmmm that's an interesting point, but I do think there is a lot of depressive outsiders living in the Nordic states, with ugly zit popping faces lol.

Extensive welfare states aren't a cure all for utopia, in fact I would think that the all American boy who plays on his local football team in an Arizona suburbia is probably happy than the average popular swede teen.

But yes culture tends to play a role, metal appears to be the counter culture of choice in Scandinavia, not so much in America, as it once was decades ago.

The weather also affects our moods and what appeals to us, so there's probably too many factors at play to paint taste as happy life=happy music lover.

Simple, I don't listen to a lot of pop. I am a teenager. I listen to whatever.

I feel that it has a lot to do with convenience. I'm sure that most people would be content with listening to whatever comes on the radio and thus don't see a need to look elsewhere for music.

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Originally Posted by oscillate (Post 1684478)

Mind control.

...Can you elaborate?

In general I tend to agree with that one study:

Quote:

Ajay Kalia of the website Skynet & Ebert conducted the survey using data from US Spotify listeners, as well as that of research company The Echo Nest.

Kalia's results found that people, on average, stopped listening to new music at the age of 33. He writes, "While teens' music taste is dominated by incredibly popular music, this proportion drops steadily through peoples' 20s, before their tastes 'mature' in their early 30s," continuing, "Until their early 30s, mainstream music represents a smaller and smaller proportion of their streaming. And for the average listener, by their mid-30s, their tastes have matured, and they are who they’re going to be."

The study also shows that there's a slight gender gap at play ("Women show a slow and steady decline in pop music listening from 13-49, while men drop precipitously starting from their teens until their early 30s, at which point they encounter the 'lock-in' effect"), also stating that becoming a parent "has an equivalent impact on your 'music relevancy' as aging about 4 years".

Kalia attempts to explain the tendency to gravitate towards less mainstream, non-current music, writing, "Two factors drive this transition away from popular music. First, listeners discover less-familiar music genres that they didn’t hear on FM radio as early teens, from artists with a lower popularity rank. Second, listeners are returning to the music that was popular when they were coming of age - but which has since phased out of popularity."

From: "People stop listening to new music at 33, study shows"

People do tend to stick to the radio and what friends are listening to both pre-20's and post-30's. Most people I know (over 30), sadly, view music as a child's past-time and have settled into careers and kids and money money money. Not all but most. It's depressing.

Barely because the ears adapt to what is listened to. This is pretty much like food, palate needs to be trained so the taste evolves with years. If you give a 5 yo child something spicy with heavy tastes, he won't like it because he isn't used to it.

Music is the same, everyone starts by airing what's popular. Even if you don't want to, that's what is used as background music on all popular events, on all TV programs etc, not even mentioning FM radios obviously. With this starting point, ears take several years to digest new sounds until being completely able to like / dislike something according to their personal tastes.

I was a teenager once. I didn't listen to pop music at all.