Attitudes, rewards, and listening-habits in Danish youth
Abstract
This study surveyed more than 1,800 Danish teenagers’ habits and attitudes towards MP3 listening. The questionnaire registered self-reported sound exposure, listening behavior, perceived rewards of listening and the effect and media preferred for prophylactic information. A ‘risk group’ of approx. 10% of respondents was defined, which in terms of relative size corresponds well to other recent studies. In general, the risk group indicated more reasons for listening to loud music. However, the three most popular reasons, independent of risk categorization, were: “I can better feel/enjoy music when it is loud”, “I can lose myself in loud music”, and “I get energy from listening to loud music”. More than 40% of the risk group indicated “I relax better with loud music” and “I get a pleasant bodily effect with loud music”. Not surprisingly, the pattern of use revealed that the risk group use their MP3-player in more situations, and for notably longer periods of time, such as reading, sleeping, and by the computer. The respondents indicated that information on potential hearing risks from MP3-usage is preferably received via television and commercials or from nurses and doctors. The most effective examples seen in the survey were actual case stories, medical argumentations, or the experience of hearing-loss symptoms.
References
Blesser, B., and Salter, L.R. (2008). “The unexamined rewards for excessive loudness,” Communications: 9th International Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem (http://blesser.net/downloads/ICBEN%202008%20Final.pdf).
Degn, C. (2009). Unges brug af MP3 afspillere. Bachelor Thesis, University of Southern Denmark.
Florentine, M., Hunter, W., Robinson, M., Ballou, M., and Buus, S. (1998). “On the behavioral characteristics of loud music listening,” Ear Hearing, 19, 420-428.
Portnuff, C.D.F., Fligor, B.J., and Arehart, K.H. (2011). “Teenage use of portable listening devices: a hazard to hearing?” J. Am. Acad. Audiol., 22, 663-677.
Salimpoor, V.N., Benovoy, M., Larcher, K., Dagher, A., and Zatorre, R.J. (2011). “Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music,” Nat. Neurosci., 14, 257-262.
SCENHIR (2008). “Potential health risks of exposure to noise from personal music players and mobile phones including a music player function,” Scientific committee on emerging and newly identified health risks, European Commission, Brussels (http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/safety/projects/#mp3).
Vogel, I., Brug, J., Van der Ploeg, C.P.B., and Raat, H. (2011). “Adolescents risky MP3- player listening and its psychosocial correlates,” Health Educ. Res., 26, 254-264.
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a. Authors retain copyright* and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
*From the 2017 issue onward. The Danavox Jubilee Foundation owns the copyright of all articles published in the 1969-2015 issues. However, authors are still allowed to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.