Has music become a replacement for conscious thought in today's youth?

[-Torchedini-]

Erm. Im doing around 120 tracks a day.
Yeah I know because of last.fm.

Mostly coz Im alone most of the time so cycling/going to school / now / Almost everywhere.
Except when somebody tries to talk to me

Why ? I like it. And my collection is pretty big. My mostplayed is around 260 times 1 track.
But people who listen all day should be having 400 favorites. I do Listening to a 100 tracks over and over and over and over again is pretty boring to me.
I mostly listen to complete albums. Don't like shuffle that much.

 

[KimberlyGoreHound]

I only listen to music when I'm on public transit, or at my computer. Sometimes I'll walk around with my earbuds in, not attached to anything, just so people will assume I'm listening to music, and won't try to talk to me. If I'm around people I actually like, I'll take them out and engage in intelligent conversation, but at all other times, I enjoy either silence, or if silence is unavailable, I settle for music in order to drown out the inane conversation of others.

 

[AwesomeExpress]

I'd say it's something very close to that. I wouldn't be surprised at how many essays have been written based on a song.

 

[ezeroast]

there are going to be millions of deaf 20-30 year olds out there in 10 years. I should of become an ear doctor.
Maybe I'll just buy shares in hearing aids and become a millionaire.

 

[Meggiepants]

Well... I am not a teenager anymore, but I was at one time. And though we did not have iPods back then, we certainly did have Walkmans. And as I recall, we also listened to music pretty much all the time then, too.

My older brother turned 40 last year, and a few years back he wired his house up so he has speakers in every room and the outside. I think he has like, 30,000 songs on his iPod now. Whenever we go over there, the music is pretty much constantly on in the background. I don't think our conversations have gotten duller since he installed his music system. He just likes to have something playing in the background. I think it's pretty much as simple as that.

As for me, I don't play music constantly, but I do play music in many situations. If I am driving, or if I am walking along a street. I don't care for the sound of cars, I prefer the sound of music. And if I am doing chores, or when I am showering or working out, any of these times there is music on. Sometimes if I am extra groggy in the morning, I put on something energizing.

I don't think I have limited my mental capabilities by listening to too much music anymore than I have rotted my brain out playing too many video games. In fact, I find certain music stimulates my imagination much the same way reading a good book does.

 

[Arafiro]

I remember recently listening to a long (non-repeating) playlist (without pausing it once, actually) whilst programming and around the 45th track I kinda noticed I was listening to a certain track and went to look on iTunes. I had almost no recollection of the previous 5 songs whatsoever, or the fact that I had listened to them. Which was interesting.

Nonetheless, just like video games, it is a form of escapism and I'm not afraid to admit that. Its shown by the fact that when I'm angry or upset I will blast music full volume in my ears and listen intently. I do this when I'm pumped too, playing CSS or something with a relentless in my hands.

I just checked my iTunes and I have 155 tracks with 3 digit playcounts, and 187 with 2 digit playcounts.
The top song has 900 plays. So eventually I'll have that in 4 digits.

I don't mind other people listening to music when I'm talking to them, as long as they can clearly hear me. Oh, and if it matters - I'm 18.

 

[jboking]

It makes me sad when reading over this thread to find a large number of people saying that the music beats just sitting in silence. Silence, to me, has a great worth to it. Silence helps you explore your own thoughts. Sitting in silence is also among the first steps in beginning meaningful meditation. Appreciating silence in the world around you is the first step to appreciating it within yourself.

More on topic, the utter obsession some teens seem to have these days with music is ridiculous. I feel like it's also actively destroying decent conversation. If you have an earphone in I know you are doing one of two things, listening to me or listening to your music. If I'm trying to have a conversation with you, I'd at least like to know that you are a part of it.

Me personally, I listen to music when driving and occasionally when online. The rest of the day, I put the headphones and speakers down. You'd be amazed how much more relaxing it is to listen to the wind than, say, the black eyed peas or some other thing kids listen to.

 

[Wicky_42]

One point has to be made - you're referring to 'youth' as if looking in from the outside, but your profile says you're what, 16?

OT, I don't like listening to music whilst working - it's distracting, normally. Of course, it's a different matter whilst doing something physical. What's wrong with beats whilst you work out or run or whatever? Why not play music whilst you walk to town?

You imply that people can't bear to listen to the same few tracks over and over, and yet you have 1000 without being interested in listening, so it's hardly inconceivable that someone who actually wants to have enough tracks to listen non-stop all day every day for a week could do so easily. That's only 2880 tracks, if they average out to 3:30 a song (though that's likely to be a conservative estimate) - and that includes leaving it on over night! Not hard to do. I've got 32Gb of music on my Hd, and I know I've listened to a small fraction of it, and know a tiny fraction of that. I could do quite well off my collection without getting bored for a long time.

Now if only I could listen to music in an FPS without it drowning out the noise of the guy sneaking up behind me...

 

[Z(ombie)fan]

if i had an ipod, it would put a selection of songs i like for " i want to listen to songs "
and a selection of relaxing/calming songs for my "jesus christ im crazy loopy BLAAAAAAAAH goop!!!" moments.

bu i dont.

 

[Amondren]

I like music i listen to it to pass time every so often but i certanly hope it wont replace younger kids though >_>

 

[Pimppeter2]

One point has to be made - you're referring to 'youth' as if looking in from the outside, but your profile says you're what, 16?

No.. I even said my friends and talked about my highschool. That's looking from the inside, I'm not given general stereotypes, I'm talking about my experiences specifically.

 

[Varanfan9]

I only listen to my I-pod during track and only have like 60 songs 20 of which I do not listen to because they came with the I-pod and I hate all of them

 

[volcanblade]

Personally I listen to music all the time. I enjoy the emotion put behind it and it calms me down at times. I also frequently keep my head phones in during the morning when people try to talk to me. It isn't so much that I have nothing to say, it's more that I'm not in the mood to talk. Sometimes people do that as a nonverbal way of saying "Leave me alone right now, I don't care what you have to say at the moment." People like me just don't feel like talking to people all the time. For me its because I hear so much whining from people about things I don't care about, usually early in the morning when I don't want to talk to begin with, that I keep my head phones in to say "Don't bother me"

 

[Phase_9]

I listen to music during these acts to try and relax. I think it's probably the same for most people.

 

[Arafiro]

Now if only I could listen to music in an FPS without it drowning out the noise of the guy sneaking up behind me...

Oh this and this again. D:
Sometimes I do play CSS with my music off, but if I die early on in a round it can get boring.

 

[I Love Lamp]

Ergo, I believe that this has become some sort of disgusting habit. Frankly I find it unnatural to have music pumped into your brain every single day for more than 3 hours a day. It?s sickening to have music blasted into your head constantly. It a way of blocking off mental awareness and consciousness. Music is a form of escapism; but it become like a magical get away drug for today?s youth. I find this no healthier than those MMO players that play WoW for 20 hours a day or what not.

Music is one of THE healthiest things you can put into your brain! Besides the emotional response that music can evoke like no other medium, music is extremely mathematical! You can devote a lifetime to learning music, and still be nowhere close to knowing everything about it.

Music stimulates beta brainwaves which spawn creativity, deeper thought and awareness. Music is much, much more than notes and intruments, the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts

 

[BigCat91]

Well, first off this seems like it's really bothering you. And to that I kind of have to say, chill out there haha. I mean it's music, its not gonna kill you.

Now to answer your question. How do you know that the music is crippling thought? I for one can listen to music and think abstractly at the same time. I do listen to music and write reports at the same time, granted it is quieter but still it doesn't really make me stop thinking. I feel that its just like making more unpleasant tasks a little bit more bearable.

One more thing, your seeing different people at different times in the day listen to music. Its not the same person listening to music throughout the day. Your really just grouping a large variety of people who share a similar trait into a single identity. I mean some people listen to music while doing homework but others don't, but the one's that don't listen during homework may listen to it during physical exercise. Really your just seeing a specific group as a single identity.