Copyright Newsweek
The music we listen to in our teens—particularly around the ages of 16–17—carries the most emotional resonance. This is the conclusion of a team of international researchers, led from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, who surveyed nearly 2,000 people from across 84 countries about music that held profound personal meaning. The team have descrvied the phenomenon they identified as the “reminiscence bump.” According to paper author and neuroscientist Iballa Burunat, the teenage brain is uniquely wired to absorb emotionally charged experiences, including music, due to its heightened sensitivity and ongoing state of development. “Think of the adolescent brain as a sponge, supercharged by curiosity and a craving for reward, but without a fully developed filter,” she said in a statement. “And it's because it’s still maturing that our strong emotional experiences, such as the songs we love, get absorbed more deeply and vividly, and leave a lasting impression. "The persistence of this reminiscence effect just shows how fundamental music is in identity formation.” The study also revealed a notable gender divide in musical memory. For men, the reminiscence bump peaked earlier, around age 16, while for women it occurred later, after age 19. Though the research lacked qualitative data to explain this difference, Burunat points to existing psychological research that may offer an explaination. Men often form musical identities earlier, driven by independence and peer bonding. For women, musical connections tend to develop more gradually, shaped by emotional relationships and social milestones. This could also be due by genre preferences. According to the researchers, teenage men tend to favor intense, rebellious genres that fuel identity and independence in a phase that peaks early. Women, on the other hand, engage with a wider range of genres—from pop to soul to classic—often using music as a tool for strengthening social bonds. These varied uses may contribute to a later peak in musical memory. "Music unfolds over time. Its rhythm, melody, and structure provide a kind of sequential framework, a timeline," Burunat said. Another key finding of the study was that our connection to music continues to evolve across our lifespan. For men, music from adolescence becomes a lasting anchor for personal meaning, while for women it shifts over time, particularly from the mid-forties onward. “This may explain why their most meaningful musical connections often shift to recent songs tied to current relationships, personal growth, or new experiences, sometimes even holding more emotional weight than the music from their youth”, Burunat added. However, there’s an unexpected twist that defies gender and generational boundaries. Both men and woman often form strong emotional ties to music released decades before they were born—typically from about 25 years earlier. Researchers call this phenomenon the "cascading reminiscence bump," and they believe it reflects strong cross-generational influence, likely shaped by music introduced by parents, family or enduring cultural icons from earlier eras. “I think it helps to think of music like a scent: it bypasses our brain’s language centers and brings a past moment to life in a non-verbal, immediate way,” Burunat explained. “But unlike a smell, music unfolds over time. Its rhythm, melody, and structure provide a kind of sequential framework, a timeline. “And it’s this extraordinary combination that allows music to act as both a time machine and a storyteller, helping us recall not just a feeling but the entire context of an event. What our findings make clear is that music is far more than just entertainment.” Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about music? Let us know via science@newsweek.com. Reference
