Music is an important component of people’s lives, but many question how the vastness of available music on social media platforms has influenced their own taste in music. It’s no secret that social media continues to reach rising audience members, specifically spreading music and viral sounds across a wide range of viewers. This increase in viewers, largely from quarantine, has greatly contributed to the music taste of NVD students. When reflecting back on what they listened to before social media took over, the responses were all fairly similar.
“Before social media, I listened to Taylor Swift and Harry Styles,” sophomore Isabel Hershkin said. “I feel like most of my music taste was influenced based on what my mom played too.”
By reflecting back on their past music taste, these students are able to see how much it has really changed. This sentiment was similarly expressed when prompted by other NVD students, sharing that before social media, their music taste mainly consisted of what and who they were exposed to. Naturally, the question of whether social media exposure changed music taste arose.
“I definitely think it [social media] has [influenced my music taste],” sophomore Emily Goldstein said. “Most of the songs that I listen to now are from TikTok, because it’s how I found them.”
Goldstein along with others confirmed that exposure to social media expanded their music taste to a wider range of songs and genres.
“I get to discover new people,” Hershkin said. “I don’t think I would have ever discovered Tate McRae and anyone like that if I didn’t have social media.”
However, when prompted about whether they liked the diverse selection of songs or not, opinions differed.
“I was kind of shocked,” Goldstein said. “I didn’t think there would be a lot of different types on TikTok.”
Alternate opinions were also shared on the issue from students who are just as heavily involved in social media.
“I was disappointed, it’s all the same,” sophomore Autumn Auh said. “I think some of the music is good, but once it gets popular I’m not a fan of it anymore.”
Auh proceeded with her statement, claiming that the popular music was “overused,” which raised the question: would these students prefer to rely on themselves for new music rather than follow what was deemed “popular?”
“I like social media, the opportunities that it gives me,” sophomore Regina Martin said. “I like that it shows me different genres.”
This was the popular opinion among many NVD students who thought the impact social media had on their music taste was something that they wanted.
“I’d prefer to not always find music through social media,” Auh said. “Normally I find new music using Smart Shuffle on Spotify. Obviously that has some popular music on it, but it’s better than listening to popular music over and over and pretending to like it.”
Using smart shuffle, where your existing playlist is mixed with recommended songs, is considered to be a good way to find new music outside of TikTok. But despite mixed opinions on whether the heavy influence social media has on music taste is a good thing, many students agree that countless favorite songs have been found through it.
“[I loved] all of them. Maybe the song ‘I Love You I’m Sorry,’ I feel like hearing that song made me get into Gracie Abrams,” Hershkin said. “Hearing new songs and then going to the concert is a cool experience.”
Some NVD students like social media for music because it exposes them to new artists and genres, and helps keep them more informed about any upcoming music events. Alternatively, some students do not favor music through social media because it can be very repetitive and force “overrated” songs onto them. They have also agreed that social media usage will continue to increase in the coming years, exposing more music and popularizing more artists and genres.
“It’s probably the new generation taking over social media,” Auh said. “[They] use music to express themselves, so we would likely use it to express ourselves more in social media too.”
