Music is known to be a frequent mood improver according to several studies and a common destressor among a large demographic of people. Listening to music serves as an efficient method to match, improve, or potential worsen ones mood, making it possible to feel happier, sadder, or cure boredom. Its uses vary, along with its effects on emotion and mood. The research question this academic paper will be addressing is what are the effects of listening to music on the emotions and moods of adolescents? This study will be based off of previous studies done on the effects of music on people, but will solely focus on the demographic of adolescents due to the complexity of emotions and moods that they demonstrate. The purpose of this study is to investigate and evaluate the different ways in which music can take a toll on the emotions and moods in adolescents, and evaluate the effectiveness and frequency of listening to music as a coping mechanism.
Although similar studies have been cond
ucted several times over the years, researchers have yet to look into the particular effects of music on adolescents. Conclusions and discussions have been made over the general population; therefore, this study is needed to extend research into why music is known as a common ground to adjust emotions and moods in teenagers, and how their results may differ from the rest of the population. This study will also provide insight into the use of listening to music as a common coping mechanism for stress in teenagers and provide reasoning as to why that may be. In a 203 study conducted by Thomas Schafer for the journal Frontiers in psychology[a], it was concluded that people listen to music to drive arousal and mood regulation rather than for emotional use or social relatedness (Schäfer, Sedlmeier, et. al). Arousal and mood regulation bring more positive feeling to a person, while social relatedness could be identified as using music to unite people at a party and liven up the scene.