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Using people's hobbies/artistic taste to asess their character.
Hello guys.
I've always thought/believed that a person's music taste "could potentially" tell some things about their character. However lately I'm thinking that not only is a person's musical taste a way to asess certain aspects of their character but also that this extends to other hobbies and likings, such as movies, series, books, art, ect.
I've noticed that here in spain the overall majority of young people (in their teens and twenties) listen to songs that share very similar themes*, that is glorifying: drugs, alcohol, drug dealing, crime, sex, partying, and of course love (but the latter has been always a popular theme), although this love isn't so much a romantic love but lustful "love" giving special emphasis to sex. Overall pursuing instant gratification and win-lose exchanges. *And young people aren't exactly known for being mature and attuned with their inner selves.
All the takers and low value people I've met listen to this kind of music, and albeit correlation doesn't imply causation we humans are very susceptible to messages we've been constantly exposed to and if a person constantly hears a message (or frame in power dynamics) and likes media that promotes that same message (frame), it isn't very extreme to say that that individual does agree with the message (sees the world with that frame). Not only that but in this particular case: it has been proved that constantly pursuing instant gratification leads to life dissatisfaction and poor mental health and what is related with these two?: power moves. Personally I don't think that a guy/girl who constantly thinks about having sex/partying and just having fun is a very reliable or mature individual.
So after this (possibly very biased) analysis I reached to the conclussion that this applies to any form of hobby or media, e.g: if a person does like really dark art related to meaningless death, depression and suffering. The fact that he is constantly exposed to the same content as well as the fact that he likes that content, could be used to tell the state of mind of this individual as well as his values/morality. Needless to say that the way in which this message is presented matters, I could like very violent series and be a high quality individual, so the important thing here would be the frame this form of media conveys to their audience.
Of course some will think that to suppose that a person is a certain way "simply because he likes listening to trap", is pretty extreme. But considering that art is a fundamental part of people with "rich inner life" I think it's not that strange to conclude that people who consume overly repetitive and shallow "art" are themselves superficial and very detached from their unconscious.
That's my very biased take on the matter (I personally dislike mainstream media) , I could be wrong.
Of course feel free to share your thoughts about this.
Cheers.
From your message I hear “quality”. There is the variety in art and there is the quality.
So I think it tells a lot about their cultural background and their curiosity/sophistication.
But yes if the lyrics are generally negative and low quality then I think your reasoning is accurate. I would just not infer to their character but rather to what the person values. There is overlap of course.
Yeah, I agree. More than character one could infer that which they value, I went a bit overboard.
So I think it tells a lot about their cultural background and their curiosity/sophistication.
It's interesting, most of the music that talks about those themes (reggaeton, trap, etc) was originated and is mostly liked by people with low socio-economic backgrounds. Not saying that they are dumber, but from personal experience I've seen that usually most takers and low value people are at the bottom of this hierarchy. Although this is a bit off topic.
P.S:
Reminds me of these YouTubers that went to tribes to ask what they valued the most in life expecting to get philosophical responses and what they got were: food and good weather. The less we have the "simpler" the things we desire of course there are exceptions.
Yeah, I agree: it can be very telling.
But with some important caveats and exceptions.
A lot of picking those songs, especially at a young age is:
- Signaling / posturing for status: Many young guys are simply going through a phase where being edgier affords status in their groups, so they conform to that.
- Aspirational and encouraging: many are exactly lacking those straits. Listening to edgier or even more "criminal" songs WISHING they were more fearless, more independent, or more daring, or higher power in general.
In restrospect, some of the higher power and even more dark triad guys I grew up with had no particular penchant for more aggressive songs. Some of the more meek and demure had. - Escapism and rebellion phase
