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Is there anything more stereotypical for a depressed teenager to do than listen to music? That's a mystery that solves itself. Sitting alone, staring into a wal

by tormeh 8y ago

Is there anything more stereotypical for a depressed teenager to do than listen to music? That's a mystery that solves itself. Sitting alone, staring into a wall while listening to music is not a thing most healthy people do. For most, music is a secondary activity. Anyway, I don't think the screen matters much per se. Being social in person is good. Not being so is bad.

yeowMeng 8y ago
uhmm.. Staring into a book while listening to silence.. staring into a wall listening to music.. These are introspective journeys. You can’t expect everyone to be social in person from day 13.. Some ppl need time before they bloom socially. Social blooming is different for everyone.
ken 8y ago
> For most, music is a secondary activity. This is strange to me. It seems like a modern change -- is it? Mostly today I see people listening to music while doing something else, or hearing it as background for movies/TV/games/commercials/stores. In the past, we didn't think it was strange to just listen to a record. That was how we heard music. It wasn't a sign of depression. (Before 2005, the most I ever did to music was drive a car.) Music used to be a more social activity due to technological limitations, but one consequence is that it was more often a primary activity. I suspect that I have some condition (hidden hearing loss, perhaps), as I can't just listen to music while doing something else. If there's music playing, my brain can't ignore it, or background it. Maybe these people who listen to music in private simply aren't physically able to appreciate it the way most others are. The constant noise of modern life causes anxiety for me, too. Concerts may be more social but they're also a lot more expensive. Bumbershoot was $10 in 1997, $35 in 2007, and $130 this year. You can't blame teens for choosing to listen to music in private. I don't know how any teens could afford to go to concerts today.
- KozmoNau7 8y ago
  Ticket prices for bigger bands have definitely gone way up. I'm very happy that the genres I listen to are still rather niche and out of the mainstream. The most expensive concert tickets I've ever bought were less than $100, and that was an arena show with two fairly big local bands.
jpindar 8y ago
In 2018, maybe. Before smartphones and mp3 players just sitting and listening to music was entirely normal.
fipple 8y ago
I just find it sad that you can’t get anything out of just listening to good music. It’s certainly not an “unhealthy” activity.
Nasrudith 8y ago
Anyway from my own personal experience before I even realized I had depression I was using music to 'substitute' and stimulate emotional tracks that were starting to fade into nothingness. Looking at the list of activities from a correlative standpoint alone is likely useless without proper derivation of causation. Lack of in person time for instance may because they are bullied and lack any positive interactions with others. Or simply because they are already depressed they lack the energy and receive no pleasure from it so they don't seek it out. Trying to put a correlative list into action is likely to be counterproductive like deciding what those paralyzed kids really need is to be thrown from their wheelchair down stairs so they can start walking again.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
3x 8y ago
> Sitting alone, staring into a wall while listening to music is not a thing most healthy people do. For most, music is a secondary activity. It's called listening carefully and it's something that every serious musician does on a regular basis. What a strange notion you have that this, an act that requires concentration and discernment, is unhealthy.
1auralynn 8y ago
If you're having a bunch of angsty feelings, listening to music can really help make you feel better and more connected with other people and the world. I think this is a matter of correlation doesn't equal causation.
VLM 8y ago
That aspect of the linked article was simply weird. In the late 80s, sitting on a school bus and listening to your walkman was very common and popular. Listening to portable music was invented by Sony in the 70s/80s not Apple.
KozmoNau7 8y ago
Sitting alone just listening to music is how I am able to enjoy all the details and nuances of a great piece of music. I'm a little bit disturbed that you seem to consider it an unhealthy activity. I also enjoy listening to music while driving or doing the dishes or hanging laundry. I also enjoy going to concerts and experiencing great musicians live. Both those are all different contexts, different ways of enjoying the music. To fully immerse myself, dedicated distraction-free listening is required. And I think it's healthy to break away from the constant distractions of modern life and just listen for an hour or so.

by tormeh 8y ago

yeowMeng 8y ago

uhmm.. Staring into a book while listening to silence.. staring into a wall listening to music.. These are introspective journeys. You can’t expect everyone to be social in person from day 13.. Some ppl need time before they bloom socially. Social blooming is different for everyone.

ken 8y ago

> For most, music is a secondary activity. This is strange to me. It seems like a modern change -- is it? Mostly today I see people listening to music while doing something else, or hearing it as background for movies/TV/games/commercials/stores. In the past, we didn't think it was strange to just listen to a record. That was how we heard music. It wasn't a sign of depression. (Before 2005, the most I ever did to music was drive a car.) Music used to be a more social activity due to technological limitations, but one consequence is that it was more often a primary activity. I suspect that I have some condition (hidden hearing loss, perhaps), as I can't just listen to music while doing something else. If there's music playing, my brain can't ignore it, or background it. Maybe these people who listen to music in private simply aren't physically able to appreciate it the way most others are. The constant noise of modern life causes anxiety for me, too. Concerts may be more social but they're also a lot more expensive. Bumbershoot was $10 in 1997, $35 in 2007, and $130 this year. You can't blame teens for choosing to listen to music in private. I don't know how any teens could afford to go to concerts today.

KozmoNau7 8y ago
Ticket prices for bigger bands have definitely gone way up. I'm very happy that the genres I listen to are still rather niche and out of the mainstream. The most expensive concert tickets I've ever bought were less than $100, and that was an arena show with two fairly big local bands.

jpindar 8y ago

In 2018, maybe. Before smartphones and mp3 players just sitting and listening to music was entirely normal.

fipple 8y ago

I just find it sad that you can’t get anything out of just listening to good music. It’s certainly not an “unhealthy” activity.

Nasrudith 8y ago

Anyway from my own personal experience before I even realized I had depression I was using music to 'substitute' and stimulate emotional tracks that were starting to fade into nothingness. Looking at the list of activities from a correlative standpoint alone is likely useless without proper derivation of causation. Lack of in person time for instance may because they are bullied and lack any positive interactions with others. Or simply because they are already depressed they lack the energy and receive no pleasure from it so they don't seek it out. Trying to put a correlative list into action is likely to be counterproductive like deciding what those paralyzed kids really need is to be thrown from their wheelchair down stairs so they can start walking again.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

3x 8y ago

> Sitting alone, staring into a wall while listening to music is not a thing most healthy people do. For most, music is a secondary activity. It's called listening carefully and it's something that every serious musician does on a regular basis. What a strange notion you have that this, an act that requires concentration and discernment, is unhealthy.

1auralynn 8y ago

If you're having a bunch of angsty feelings, listening to music can really help make you feel better and more connected with other people and the world. I think this is a matter of correlation doesn't equal causation.

VLM 8y ago

That aspect of the linked article was simply weird. In the late 80s, sitting on a school bus and listening to your walkman was very common and popular. Listening to portable music was invented by Sony in the 70s/80s not Apple.

KozmoNau7 8y ago

Sitting alone just listening to music is how I am able to enjoy all the details and nuances of a great piece of music. I'm a little bit disturbed that you seem to consider it an unhealthy activity. I also enjoy listening to music while driving or doing the dishes or hanging laundry. I also enjoy going to concerts and experiencing great musicians live. Both those are all different contexts, different ways of enjoying the music. To fully immerse myself, dedicated distraction-free listening is required. And I think it's healthy to break away from the constant distractions of modern life and just listen for an hour or so.