Woman goes 'music-free' for 90 days, realizes songs have a strange connection with memories
Every time she felt negative energy welling up, she would turn to music as an 'escape.'
Lauren (@lrnjulie), a content creator from America, was addicted to music, but not in a good way. She said she was so obsessed that she couldn't function without it for even a second. Since Lauren always had continuous and uninterrupted access to music, she struggled to focus on the present and pay attention to her surroundings. So, as part of her experiment, she decided to go completely music-free for three months and reflect on her experiences. Lauren deleted all music apps and restricted herself from listening to music except for ambient sounds during study sessions. At the end of three months, her perspective about music had totally changed; she, in fact, realized that it plays a powerful cue for childhood nostalgia in ways we don't even realize. Lauren opened up about her learnings and her experiences in a YouTube video.
Every time Lauren felt negative energy welling up, she would turn to music as an 'escape.' In fact, whenever she was sad, she would play sad songs, which would further intensify her emotions and make her more upset. If listening to sad music makes people more vulnerable, then why are most of us drawn to music that evokes unpleasant emotions? A 2013 analysis (Kawakami et al., 2013) found that listening to sad music often evokes contradictory feelings, meaning people experience a mix of both positive and negative emotions. They feel sad but also enjoy music that helps them feel emotionally relieved or validates their emotions by connecting them to the sentiments in the song. But Lauren quoted the same study to explain how, more than comfort, music brought her emotional confusion. If she had even a slight negative emotion, she would listen to sad music and relate to it, when in reality, the issue wouldn't be that serious. For three months, when Lauren intentionally stayed away from music, she had an interesting observation. People are exposed to music from a very young age; it becomes such an integral part of their lives that music shapes their memories of personal experiences.
This means they start associating specific moments of life with a particular music or a song they listened to during that time. "Because of its near ubiquity, music has been identified as important in the construction of autobiographical memories and thus for making judgments about oneself and others," Lauren quoted a 2008 study. The research explained that when we hear music connected to memories, it evokes a strong "feeling of knowing." The music or a particular song feels familiar even though we may not remember the lyrics or titles. This emphasizes that melodies are powerful cues for memory. Lauren started listening to music when she was eight, and so in retrospection, when she tried to recall memories before that, she realized they weren't associated with music. Instead, they were defined by the sounds of nature. This means Lauren used to spend more time out in nature before she was exposed to music — an easy escape from the real world.
Staying away from music for three months also made her realize how often she missed out on things happening in the present. "I really was able to focus on details way more and be content with just the simplest things in life..." Lauren confessed. She also gained emotional clarity during the period she avoided music. Because Lauren didn't allow music to influence her feelings, she could understand herself better. "I was able to reflect on why exactly I got upset by this thing that happened, and not having music contributed to my being self-aware," she added. The experiment changed Lauren's perspective on music. She said she would be mindful of listening to music and limit it to only a few hours a day.
Meanwhile, reacting to the experiment and its takeaways, @robin.backer commented, "I had a similar experience, and what I personally found was that I should only listen to music when it was purely for music. Because when I take a walk and listen to music, I tend to take the world around me for granted. I stopped caring about the sounds of the birds, the rain, etc. It's so meditative to truly focus on nature when you really try. Music is great and meant to be enjoyed, but like anything else in life, through balance. Great & important video!"
You can follow Lauren (@lrnjulie) on YouTube for more lifestyle content.
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