93% of young people rely on music lyrics as “therapeutic tool”, study finds
73% of young people surveyed by Youth Music added that lyrics help them to process difficult feelings and emotions
93% of young people treat music lyrics as a “therapeutic tool” when struggling with their mental health, new research by Youth Music has revealed.
The UK’s leading youth music charity surveyed a group of 16-24 year olds in an attempt to better understand the role of creativity in young people’s wellbeing. It follows on from the organisation’s 2021 Self-Expression report which evidenced the link between songwriting, self-expression and wellbeing in young people.
In the aftermath of the pandemic and with the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis, young people’s mental health is being increasingly affected, causing them to turn to coping mechanisms.
Findings from Youth Music’s new research demonstrated that those aged 16-24 found that listening to, reading, or writing lyrics enables them to process difficult feelings and emotions (73%), and helps to reduce feelings of isolation or loneliness (54%).
Furthermore, the survey revealed that twice as many young people feel that engaging with lyrics in some form helps to reduce feelings of isolation or loneliness compared with older generations (54% for 16-24s vs. 22% for over 55s).
“This new evidence shows that creativity continues to provide an important outlet for young people in times like these,” noted Matt Griffiths, CEO of Youth Music, on the findings. “Which is why it’s crucial we ensure the projects providing the space for this invaluable work are able to survive and thrive, in these challenging economic circumstances.”
Youth Music gathered additional insights from its ‘NextGen community’ (aged 18-25 creative career starters), along with grassroots music projects and academic experts to shed light on the impact of lyric writing on the youth wellbeing.
Speaking as part of the research, Brighton-based poet and DJ, Erin James told Youth Music: “Writing is a massive vessel to my emotions, how I process my emotions and how I process the world. Where I felt previously that I didn’t have the right tools or I felt a bit powerless to respond to an event, my writing has shifted from a personal processing of emotions to using it to educate other people and myself as well.”
Manchester-based artist B!TEZ added: “I write lyrics, again as like a love language to myself as for expression purposes and to self-regulate, but also to connect to other people because you’re going through the similar emotions.”
Despite the increasingly well-documented link between lyricism and mental wellbeing, the UK has seen an increasing trend of artistic content developed by young people being used as evidence in the criminal justice system.
Last week, Art Not Evidence launched a campaign last week to oppose the use of rap lyrics as evidence in UK trials, which has been signed by influential figures, such as MP Nadia Whittome and DJ Annie Mac.
London based rapper, and winner of the Lyricist Award at this year’s Youth Music Awards, TL, noted: “Depending on the genre of music, it can really have an effect on people’s perspective of music and lyrics. For example, drill is not [widely accepted] by society – there’s some drill music that has really good lyrics, but no one takes it in because of the genre of music.”
Read the full research by Youth Music here.
Revisit DJ Mag’s report on the police censorship of UK drill and rap videos here.
