How music provides a connection in a way other forms of social media and internet usage do not

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

human history, civilisations around the world have produced and engaged with music. From feasts to funerals, music has permeated almost every aspect of culture and life. Evolutionary psychologists have even argued that music evolved as a means of enhancing social cohesion and increasing our chances of survival.

Communal singing and dancing might have played an important role in increasing empathy and our willingness to cooperate, which helped social groups to survive. Today, however, we spend most of our time listening to music alone. We spend hours listening while we do chores, commute to work and work out at the gym.

While we sometimes sing in the shower and attend live concerts, we spend far more time listening to music than producing it ourselves, and majority of our listening is conducted in isolation. In fact, a 2022 Ernst & Young report, 'Tuning into Consumer: Indian M&E Rebounds With a Customer-Centric Approach', found that Indians spent an average of 21.9 hours a week listening to music on Spotify. That's approximately 3 hours of music a day and nearly 4 hours more than the global weekly average.

Furthermore, the vast majority of Americans — 87% of respondents in a 2017 Statista survey — use headphones to listen to music. When we wear headphones, we actively create a barrier between ourselves and our environment. Music has ceased to be the social activity it has been for much of human history — and this is worrisome.