Music Trends and Teenage Conformity
The concept of a rebellious teenager mostly applies to how the individual deals with those who are outside his or her peer circle, but for those within, nothing is as conformist or as blind as another teenager in the group. This is the finding that studies have found in terms of determining the music preferred to by teenagers.
Teenagers were made to listen to various kinds of music and were asked to rate each song according to their personal preferences. After which, they were informed regarding which songs were famous, popular and well liked.
After being made aware of the public opinion towards the tracks, they were once again asked to rate the items. Without much surprise, titles that were famous had easily received high marks and those that were not famous had been abandoned for tunes that everyone else liked; so much for individuality. Further reports indicate that the teens were driven by the need to conform and by fear of being cast out or rejected for being different.
While disappointing to hear, the results have given us a new insight not only in the world of teenagers and the power of popular opinion, but also in the how much value there is to having a highly rated song, service or product. While not exactly a merit to the talents of a songwriter or a performer, bringing out a song with plenty of high ratings would certainly sell significantly better than titles with low ratings.
In an effort to blend in and belong, teenagers would opt to change their preference to match that of their peers. This defense mechanism exists to help an individual avoid rejection and find a way to belong.
Get to know more about how peer pressure affects teenager’s choices and music preference at the Times Online UK.
Tags: Music
