Music, Adolescence and Emotions

Music, Adolescence and Emotions

Most of people listen to music and it has been played such an important role in one’s emotional period and during the adolescent phase. Music and songs contain emotions and share familiar features with one’s feeling and emotion. It would help individual in terms of socializing, communicating and sharing values with others especially adolescents. It is possible that music also help with learning in school and focusing into studies. Adolescents in general will go through more dramatic emotional phase compared to other phase (Miranda & Claes, 2009). Emotion regulation is one of the uses of music that contains positive moods.

My close experience with music was when I got in contact with playing piano as a child. Music has played a large part keeping me accompanied and connected with people and lifting my emotions during my tough times at my teenager life. I started listening music almost everyday since high school and it helped me a lot in my character building, studies, socializing and emotions.

In high school, music has helped me in term of friendship. I met a lot of friends through music, as it was the common interest between us. My friends and I shared our favourite music with each other and used to sing together during the class break. Music has helped us to communicate and brought us to a closer bond as it allowed us to discuss and share the value which music brings out. Also, I find that it is easier to make friends with those who have similar music favoritism as me as well as socializing with them.

Social Identity Theory (SIT) states that individuals will incorporate the similar tastes and styles of their group in order to nurture self-esteem and sense of belongings of themselves and as well as get social identity from the group which they belong (Tajfel, 1978). The research of Tarrant, North and Hargreaves (2001) based on the SIT has suggested that the music preferences are used to define individual’s identity...