Study finds solo music listening boosts social well-being

Summary

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Listening to music by yourself might not seem like a social activity, but University at Buffalo researchers have published a study that suggests how doing so can have valuable social benefits. "It's a great way to give yourself a social boost and increase your well-being," says Elaine Paravati, Ph.D., the study's corresponding author, who conducted the research while completing her doctorate at UB. Across two experiments for the study published in the journal Psychology of Music, Paravati and co-authors—Esha Naidu, Ph.D., a postdoctoral associate at Duke University, who was finishing her graduate work at UB at the time of the research; and Shira Gabriel, Ph.D., a UB professor of psychology—demonstrated how music functions as a social surrogate. The study's perspective, however, differs from a lot of previous research on the social aspects of music, which often focus on how music brings people together, as listeners and performers. Paravati instead looked at music enjoyed in isolation. Humans have a fundamental need to belong, which strongly motivates our behavior. Failing to connect with others can lead to depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. There are traditional ways to fill this need, like spending time with family and friends, but there are non-traditional strategies as well, activities that might not be immediately recognized as social. These are known as social surrogates, which can buffer against loneliness, isolation and social threats, like rejection, just as well as time spent with others. Parasocial relationships, such as the one-sided bond between fans and celebrities, immersion into the social world, and reminders of others, are all social surrogates. "Listening to music alone operates as a social surrogate along all three of those pathways," says Paravati. "All of these paths can help us feel less lonely and more belonging. Music helps us feel connected to the artists; it can make us feel immersed in the world of ...