How Audio can be The Cure to The Loneliness Epidemic

Younger individuals in the Gen-Alpha and Gen-Z populations have now, unwillingly, taken part in a social experiment where their formative years of socialization involved making friends through a screen. Although most activities have resumed, habits take time to change. The rise of healthy meditation apps began in 2014 and has recently begun to fall, leading many to spend their lonely hours during the day and evenings binge-watching the latest streaming content.

The U.S. surgeon general, just this past week, declared loneliness as an epidemic that could be just as deadly as smoking. It’s more than good to take a break from the business of life; however, the excessive nature of this screen-based relaxation appears to be more of a hidden crutch to escape loneliness through binging (Wang, 2019).

Television and binge-watching are not the only visual media people turn to when lonely; many turn to social media. Social media can be a tool we use to connect with others virtually, which may seem like a good solution to isolation; however, research shows that those who feel lonely often turn to social media resulting in more loneliness (Derrick Wirtz et al., 2020).

There is no cure-all for loneliness, as each person’s experience is personal and unique. However, research has proven music’s ability to combat loneliness and the negative results of visual media.

Source 1: Schäfer, K., Saarikallio, S., & Eerola, T. (2020). Music May Reduce Loneliness and Act as Social Surrogate for a Friend: Evidence from an Experimental Listening Study. Music & Science

Music has been used to encourage social bonding long before the invention of personal listening devices. This can be traced back to the origins of human culture as music was used to enhance social bonding, cohesion, and ultimately survival. Fast forward to modern times; people now utilize music for similar reasons. Seeing live music for just 20 minutes increases the feeling of closeness to others by 25%, and 2/3 of people say they go to live music for the shared experience (Skelton, 2018). Music’s positive effect does not dissipate individual listening. One reason is that our music taste relates to a sense of belonging with others who also enjoy that music (Rudd, 2017).

The music listening experience is not the only form of audio entertainment that positively impacts the feeling of “togetherness;” podcasts have also found a place in creating community. People who listen to more podcasts are more socially engaged, have an increased sense of belonging, and use social media less (Tobin & Guadagno, 2022).

As discussed, research shows that audio creates a sense of belonging and dissipates loneliness, but what is happening biologically? When we listen to music, our brains release a hormone called oxytocin which is often also released during social interactions, dancing, and breastfeeding (Thompson, 2014). In fact, this hormone floods infant brains when mothers speak to them in order to enhance the feeling of love and affinity.

 While these biological benefits of audio can provide cures to this recently declared epidemic, it must also be noted that each person’s answer to loneliness is different. Some may find that podcasts help and other may find specified playlists or live music is the best way to feel connected. Even though everyone’s course of action may be different, neuroscience and research support the claim that replacing visual entertainment with audio is healthier.

Many countries worldwide, including Australia, Denmark, France, and even parts of the US, have begun to implement certain social media restrictions for adolescents for security and health-related reasons. Visual media may decrease in the coming months and years ahead; however, audio-based entertainment is growing and transforming our listening habits to be utilized in healthier ways for the betterment of our well-being in the quickly evolving digital world we live in.