Spotify has simply launched its 2024 Spotify Wrapped, the music streaming web site’s annual presentation of every consumer’s yearly listening habits.
It provides you a enjoyable recap of your most listened to songs, artists and genres from the previous 12 months – full with stats like what number of minutes you listened and your prime style “phases” or “moments”.
The custom has seized the cultural zeitgeist all through the entire 12 months, with plenty of on-line discourse surrounding what music will prime your listens for the 12 months.
Along with the thrilling approach the record is offered (aesthetically pleasing tiles, interactive parts), the reply to its means to captivate could also be present in one easy concept: we inherently like understanding ourselves.
However what does this imply? We will unpack this additional within the psychological theories of self-concept, social comparability and social connection.
Self-concept
Self-concept is how we see ourselves. It develops from our experiences and our responses to those experiences.
Music is a kind of distinctive mediums that displays what we’ve skilled (for instance, a break-up) and the way we really feel (disappointment and craving).
So, once we see a yearly record of our prime artists, genres and songs, it’s like wanting right into a mirror that tells us who we’ve been all year long.
This drive in direction of self-reflection is probably going as a result of it fulfils a few of our most elementary human wants. Do not forget that time when everybody was doing the Myers-Briggs character take a look at?
In 1943, the American psychologist Abraham Maslow developed his idea of human wants.
Maslow hierarchy of wants. The Studio
In line with this idea, people have a necessity for esteem (gaining respect and recognition inside our communities) and self-actualisation (realisation of 1’s potential). Neither of those can happen with out first an understanding of who we at the moment are. Sharing a listing, then, is a approach of claiming to others, “this is me!”.
However sharing your Wrapped record serves extra features than merely self-expression. It facilitates social comparability and social connection.
Social comparability
In 1954, American social psychologist Leon Festinger revealed his social comparability idea.
He believed people are naturally inclined to check themselves to others. We always consider the place we stand in relation to these round us.
Spotify Wrapped
If you submit your Wrapped record, you aren’t simply saying, “this is what I listened to” or “this is who I am”. You’re additionally inviting others to have interaction in a delicate social dialogue.
Seeing another person with the identical music on their record would possibly spark a way of connection. Seeing that you simply’re within the prime 1% of Taylor Swift followers would possibly make you’re feeling even a little bit superior (and others a little bit envious).
(As a aspect word, I hope this occurs to me once more this 12 months.)
Seeing another person’s Wrapped can even encourage and validate. If a good friend’s record consists of a mixture of genres you’ve by no means explored, you would possibly really feel inspired to department out. Otherwise you would possibly see another person’s record and really feel relieved you’re not the one one obsessive about an artist.
Whether or not acutely aware or unconscious, these comparisons drive engagement with Spotify.
Social connection
Sharing our Spotify Wrapped satisfies one other elementary human want: belonging.
People are inherently social creatures who wish to really feel beloved and accepted. Music is without doubt one of the oldest methods we’ve related with each other.
Sharing our Wrapped lists isn’t nearly displaying off who we’re, however about discovering frequent floor. It’s about discovering your tribe, a bunch of individuals we are able to really feel safely related to.
That is much more essential throughout a interval by which individuals’s opinions have gotten extra divided and for a youthful technology the place loneliness is changing into an rising downside.
Constructing by yourself wrap
This urge to find out about your self and to share could be very human.
This 12 months, nonetheless, I problem you to transcend simply dropping a like on somebody’s story.
Positive, the dopamine hit is nice and is a part of what retains us coming again to this yearly ritual. Nevertheless it takes greater than that to fulfill our want for connection.
This 12 months, use Spotify Wrapped to start out up a dialog with somebody. Perhaps about how their experiences and emotions this 12 months led to the songs showing on their record. You would possibly study one thing new about them and create or revitalise a significant connection.
And that’s a wrap.
Kelvin (Shiu Fung) Wong, Senior Lecturer in Medical Psychology, Swinburne College of Know-how
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