Music and Teen Happiness Link

A new study shows that the way teenagers listen to music is linked to how happy they are.

“Happiness” seems like a simple concept, but you can think about it in two different ways. First, there is feeling happy in the moment, like when you hear your favorite song on the radio. Second, there is the happiness that comes from feeling good about your life overall.

We know that music can contribute to the first kind of happiness, but can it also contribute to the second kind?

It turns out that the answer depends on why people listen to music.

Researchers asked more than 200 college students about their reasons for listening to music. They wanted to know if the students were listening for their own reasons–for example, because music gives them pleasure.

Or were the students listening for different kinds of reasons–for example, to fit in with a peer group?

The research team discovered that the students who listened for their own reasons were happier with their lives.

In fact, the reasons students gave for listening to music turned out to be more important than the amount of time they spent listening.

But a mystery remains: Were the students happy because they listened to music for their own reasons, or did their happiness allow them to act on what was important to them rather than doing things just to fit in?