Digital Fast Part 2/5: Music
How I learned to put my music habits in the right context to maintain a healthy technological relationship
After seeing the positive response to my previous post I thought I’d follow up with a few follow-up articles. This one will mostly be about how I balance my music listening and dealing with boredom. I’ll do another about how I found a healthy relationship with the internet and how I plan to spend less and less time online. If there’s anything else anyone would like me to address feel free to DM me or leave me a comment.
As I’m writing this I am listening to ‘Dead Souls’ by Joy Division (yes, named for Nikolai Gogol’s novel, which I am currently reading,) so I can’t pretend that I’m so offline that I don’t utilize Spotify. As you will learn in my following article I have a lot of plans regarding how I intend to step away from screens, but not using music won’t ever be one. In this article, I will write about how I currently govern my personal music listening habits versus how I used to.
I got my first real access to music when I was barely fifteen—I got an iPod touch, and an entirely novel world was now at my fingertips. It was pretty easy for me at that age to get lost in the vast realm of music and unfortunately, I did. My love for slightly immature, and questionably age-appropriate, bands like My Chemical Romance, Bring Me The Horizon, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! At The Disco wasn’t initially a topic of concern (I’ll defend myself and mention that I still listened to a good amount of classical music and 90s alternative then.) But, it grew into one much faster than I expected and a lot faster than I could manage at that age.
It wasn’t just the music itself that was the problem, because, now, on the other side of this I still listen to a lot of these bands (I am listening to ‘Sleep’ by My Chemical Romance, right now.) But I’m not the same person I was then, nor do I listen to them the same way I used to. I’ll use My Chemical Romance as my chief example because they are the best example of the three major issues that I experienced initially with music listening:
Excessive screen usage
Becoming too invested in the band
Spending too much time on YouTube
Excessive Screen Usage
When I first started listening to music this wasn’t a huge issue, mainly because I just…listened to the music. But you can’t just listen to music, can you? You have to make playlists, set up a queue, and otherwise interact with all of Spotify’s features meant to make you use the app for a significant amount of time. And there’s still more! I discovered Kerrang!, Rolling Stone, NME, and Alternative Press. A band like My Chemical Romance has a lot of coverage in all those magazines, and besides, there’s fan fiction, memes, Pinterest boards, and so much more. There was quite literally an unlimited amount of information and content about them. For me, who loves knowing every single tiny fact, this was very problematic. And this, my excessive texting, and internet rabbit holes led to probably six hours of screen time a day (phone and computer combined.) These days I’m maxing out at 1-3 (dependent on how much school I have and if I’m writing on SubStack) hours a day, which is an amazing achievement; considering that the average American spends seven hours on screens. It is also mostly productive screen time, or healthy screen time (sometimes used as a reward,) I’ll get more into all that in another part, though.
Becoming Too Invested in the Band
I don’t want to use My Chemical Romance as an example here, because Gerard Way’s story is inspirational. However, there is a certain extent of reading about a band that becomes too much. Especially considering that the band’s lyrics, past, and image are on the dark and morbid end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, a younger version of myself was extraordinarily interested in it all. The effects it likely had on my mental health are numerous but off-topic and too personal for this article. I, in short, learned that becoming wholeheartedly invested in any band is not wise.
Spending Too Much Time on YouTube
This one is rather self-explanatory, because not only do these bands have music videos but there are also live performances, vocal analyses, behind-the-scenes, reviews, documentaries, and album analyses. As a nerd and an easily bored younger teen, this was a very slippery slope. I not only watched it while I was in my room but also on the TV while cooking, cleaning, drawing, and playing cards-basically where most people have background music I had music videos. Certainly not my proudest moment, but we can use our frustration to motivate change.
…So What Did I Do?
Even before my digital fast, I started to pump the brakes on my music listening. First I ceased listening to all the darker bands I enjoyed and barely listened to anything else. It helped, a little. Ultimately ceasing all technology over Lent helped the most, as not only did it help with my phone screen time, but also my computer. Frankly, now that I’ve broken out of the highly addictive cycle I find it less interesting, while writing this essay I even thought for old time's sake I’d watch one of my favorite MCR videos, and it didn’t hit me the same. Yes, it’s nostalgic in a way, but it doesn’t feel like this black hole is trying to suck me back online.
And what about the sad lyrics? As I mentioned, stepping away from technology helped me see the world in a better light which has made sadder lyrics not as oppressive. Because the world is beautiful, and there is a certain beauty to sad songs, and I’m fine with that. Melancholia I think is a healthy, permissible emotion to experience, but when something, such as a band, is making me feel despair that’s when I need to watch it (I’ll probably write about Melancholia soon, as I am quite the lover of sad songs, books, etc.)
For me, breaking my unhealthy tendencies to watch YouTube or go on internet searches for hours was completely stopping for a couple weeks, and then turning back to it with a clean slate. I do listen to music quite a bit, but I use it as a reward for doing harder things. The three times I listen to music the most are:
When cleaning/doing chores
When working out (not outside!)
When working on school essays.
I listen to music while driving, too, but it becomes more of a social thing. I like to be able to connect with others in the car, over a shared love for a band. This is especially fun at concerts! I love seeing bands live, and being in a room, or outside with thousands of people who like the same band as you is exhilarating.
And, going to concerts is a good thing, I think, as long as you behave in an honorable way when there. Listening to music to support a band you like is cool and since the very beginning of time, humans made music. It’s a way we communicate with and connect with others, and I think that’s very beautiful.
What Bands?
For me, I never struggled with listening to truly vulgar music, because I’ve always tried to avoid it. There are some bands, though, that I enjoy that aren’t the most wholesome and beautiful and I have two main strategies for combatting that.
One, I listen to some bands in moderation and keep a mix of music on my playlists to avoid getting dangerously hooked to a certain band.
Two, and most importantly, I try to find bands with genuinely thought-provoking lyrics. Something that can cultivate me mentally while doing more mundane tasks (driving, sweeping, etc.) Some bands, for example, are inspired by great literature or profound philosophies. I try not to listen to music for sheer background noise or mind-numbing, rather I treat music as something else to help me learn and grow. Some bands, for me, that truly exemplify that are The Smiths, Joy Division, The Cure, and Molchat Doma. As mentioned, I can enjoy art and literature that leans more towards the melancholy side of life. But, not only were these bands inspired by great writers and thinkers, but they also delivered messages about the human condition. Sorrow, despair, and fear, but also hope, beauty, and love.
Classical music, too, is a beautiful way to not only marvel at art but also get interested in historical periods. My love for Frederic Chopin has prompted me to read his biography, learn more about Poland’s rocky history, and have encouraged me in my piano playing.
These kinds of positive influences are great, and I think music has a positive impact. As I step further and further away from technology, I never intend to stop listening to streamed music. Yes, my record collection will grow, but what online music has done isn’t necessarily bad. You're the only one who can choose if easily available, unlimited, music is an issue. It can be a blessing or a curse, like numerous things in our age.
Next, I intend to write my third part about ‘slip ups’ and then my fourth about boredom and using the internet for learning. I am also working on a special essay about the exisentialist literature and philosophy in the music of Joy Division. Please leave comments, questions, or suggestions in the comment section or DM me :)