Escaping the world around us can happen the moment we place our headphones on and tune out the background noise with our favorite music. Your world feels a little quieter and calmer again, soothed by the instrumentals and lyrics from your song of choice.
EDM: Music for the Soul
As fresh college students, EDM and house music are familiar genres to our ears. We indulge in electronic music at parties and concerts that allow us to dance freely, or frat flick if preferred. As music can bring peace to our minds, research has found EDM to improve mental well-being.
Tebra’s Intake platform conducted a study to support their hypothesis of music healing the mind. Tebra surveyed over 1,000 people and analysis of more than 68,000 Spotify tracks provide insight into the most popular artists and genres that support mental health. More than 1 in 10 said EDM is their go-to genre to listen to when feeling sad or depressed. Additionally, medical professionals support that the best genres to listen to improve your mental health are pop and electronic/dance music.
The EDM community is also known to be an inclusive, welcoming environment for new listeners or ravers to join without judgment. The ultimate consensus at EDM concerts is for everyone to dance, enjoy each other’s company and build a social connection.
Listen and Partake with Caution
EDM music is at the tip of our fingers at any time and place. Whether it’s long hours of studying and needing a boost of electronic beats or pregaming for the night out, the genre is integrated in our daily routines. Raves and EDM concerts allow for true listeners to indulge in the subculture and music, but there’s more exposure to substance use. EDM has been associated with different stimulants, hallucinogens and depressants that ravers partake in to enhance their experience. It can become a slippery slope with one substance leading to another, and ultimately substance abuse that will negatively impact your mental health.
Furthermore, the combination between overstimulating visuals and substances use can cause psychosis; a mental health condition where one loses touch with reality. Psychosis can distort one’s perceptions, speech and hearing that can be difficult for an individual to reach a normal mental state. Although all the fun colors, outfits and addicting electronic beats can create our personal euphoria, there’s always a tradeoff. The Association for Electronic Music (AFEM) has created a guide for those working in the EDM industry and avid listeners to use to protect their mental health and have resources at hand.
Are you an avid EDM listener? Let @VALLEYmag know on X!
