I didn't listen to music for 3 months (a science experiment)

Summary

In this insightful video, Lauren shares her three-month experiment of abstaining from music to study its impact on her life. She reveals her struggle with music addiction, the emotional confusion it caused, and how the absence of music heightened her sense of presence and self-awareness. Lauren's experience led her to value silence and suggests a 'music detox' for those with similar dependencies, while advocating for intentional and healthy music consumption.

Takeaways

• 🎧 Lauren conducted a personal experiment by not listening to music for three months to understand its impact on her life.
• 📚 She removed all music apps from her devices and avoided playing music through other platforms like YouTube.
• 🌧️ For studying, she used nature sounds like fire and rain to replace music, listening to them on her iPod Shuffle.
• 🔁 The primary reason for the experiment was Lauren's self-identified music addiction, which she felt was affecting her daily life.
• 🏃‍♀️ Music addiction was defined by a craving, loss of control, and persistence despite negative consequences.
• 🌐 Lauren felt that music was interfering with her presence and ability to focus on her surroundings.
• 💔 She also experienced emotional confusion, where music either numbed or exaggerated her emotions, preventing her from accurately processing her feelings.
• 🌲 The experiment led to a heightened sense of presence and appreciation for the simple details in life, such as conversations and nature sounds.
• 💭 Lauren gained emotional clarity, as the absence of music forced her to confront and understand her emotions more accurately.
• 🎶 Despite the benefits, Lauren recommends not going beyond two months without music, as she experienced negative effects like constant mumbling and making bird noises.
• 🌳 She plans to reintegrate music into her life in a more intentional way, designating specific tasks for listening and avoiding it during others, like being in nature or with people.

Q & A

What was the purpose of Lauren's experiment?

Lauren conducted a science experiment to understand the effects of not listening to music for three months on herself.

What did Lauren do during her experiment?

Lauren deleted all music apps from her devices, refrained from playing music or other sounds through websites like YouTube, and used nature sounds like fire and rain for studying.

Why did Lauren decide to stop listening to music?

Lauren stopped listening to music due to her music addiction, lack of presence, and emotional confusion caused by music.

What are the three principles of addiction defined by Shaffer et al., 2000?

The three principles are 1) a craving or compulsion to do something, 2) loss of control when it comes to this behavior, and 3) persistence of behavior despite accruing negative consequences.

How did Lauren's experience with music affect her emotional clarity?

Lauren found that music was confusing her emotions by either numbing them or intensifying them, which led to a lack of emotional clarity.

What did Lauren learn about music and autobiographical memories?

Lauren learned that music helps in recalling specific moments of life and is important in the construction of autobiographical memories, as stated in a 2008 paper.

What benefits did Lauren experience from not listening to music?

Lauren experienced heightened creativity, a sense of wonder, increased presence, and emotional clarity during her experiment.

What advice does Lauren have for those who might be overly dependent on music?

Lauren suggests trying a music detox, even if just for a day or a specific task, to observe how it feels and to appreciate the richness of silence.

How does Lauren plan to approach music listening in the future?

Lauren plans to designate specific tasks for music listening, avoid Spotify premium to be more intentional, and have set tasks where she will not listen to music, such as when in nature or with other people.

What limitations does Lauren acknowledge in her experiment?

Lauren acknowledges that she is not a musician, it's hard to avoid music entirely in public places, and the sample size of her study is one, making it less reliable.