A recent study conducted by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz aimed to explain why most people prefer listening to music from their teen years rather than newer songs.
Stephens-Davidowitz, the author of Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, And What The Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are, evaluated every single chart-topping song released between the years 1960 and 2000 with the help of Spotify. He analyzed the data he gathered along with the ages of the songs' biggest fans.
The author found out that a woman's taste in music is typically formed between the ages of 11 and 14. A man's music taste is formed between 13 to 16 years old. Stephens-Davidowitz also used Radiohead's hit song "Creep" in his study. He said that the track is the 164th most popular song among men who are now 38 years old. However, the song is not as popular among men who are aged 28 or 48.
Stephens-Davidowitz also came up with a prediction for Valentine's Day based on the statistics that he came up with. He said that 30-year-olds will most likely listen to Beyoncé's song "Crazy In Love," while 45-year-olds will play "When It's Love" by Van Halen. Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" will also become a hit among 60-year-olds on Feb. 14.
Stephens-Davidowitz's Study Faces Backlash
However, not everyone agrees with Stephens-Davidowitz's analysis. A handful of readers claimed that they no longer listen to the songs they used to listen to when they were still teenagers. Others also said that even though they are already "old," they still love listening to pop or modern songs.
"I dislike most popular music from the 90s and most of the stuff I do like I wasn't aware existed at the time. Personally, I think we are living in the best era for music since the 1970s. There's so much out there right now that's good, it just takes more work to find it," wrote a reader.
"I'm 48 and can't stand to listen to 'old' music. I listen to current and relatively new music most of the time. 2010+," wrote another reader.
Other readers also defended Stephens-Davidowitz's study and said that his statistics do not lie. One of them said that the data is not supposed to be generalized. Another reader said that a person's taste in music — regardless of age — is subjective.
