Some Ideas on the Influence of Music on the Efficacy of Academic Performance

The combined perspective of psychology and human history has demonstrated the evident efficacy of music in academics. In addition to the proven benefits of music such as alleviating anxiety and improving concentration researched by Florida National University in 2019, music shares continuity with human beings and many other species around the globe. Although music at its fullest potential can provide efficiency for many subjects, the misinterpretation and misuse of music in academics damage its reputation and possible outcomes that could be cultivated when using music in righteous ways. The following thoughts of mine are a short consideration and criticism toward individuals who are unintentionally neglecting their fullest academic efficiencies by misusing music in their life.

If each genre of music could be described as a common taste in foods, most individuals would agree that K-pop music resembles a simple spicy or sweet treat: candy or ginger cookies with the monotonous, one-dimensional flavor of a simple afternoon snack. Meanwhile, classical music can be compared to a fine dining dish like steak or salad which allows for various interpretations of taste. Although dishes and music share similar characteristics of the capitalistic subject of consumption and could be repetitively and differently interpreted by the culture and its citizens, one is usually selected with careful considerations for its influence when experiencing while the other one is, well… music. Why would people choose their music without care knowing that the choice would influence their emotions and conduct for a meaningful amount of time? Awakening vigilance from these “careless” consumers is needed for superior development in academics, as many individuals from my observations were limited to certain categories such as K-pop or “Tik-Tok” based music.

My mind is in pure confidence that random students drafted from the crowd in KISJ would prefer this “sweet” music over other genres. This threatening assumption leads to my other worries about student tendencies, as “sweet” music does not provide aid for students to focus on their academics while listening. Instead, it disturbs and distracts the individuals from focus through provocative lyrics and melodies. The overall tendencies of students’ choice of music, developed and influenced by Korea’s media culture, is an evident threat to securing the academic maturity of students.

At this point, the issues have been dragged out from the abyss, and all individuals can freely see what the problem is. The allegiance of the students must be directed more toward academics than entertainment and pleasure. Just like the Domino effect, a single distracted individual will work as an origin of contagion and influence everyone inside the community. Therefore, these considerations and worries of mine toward the tendencies of the current community will conclude with an executable proposal that might resolve the misdirected allegiance of individuals.

Students must be aware of the catastrophic influence of “sweet” music on academic performance and should start avoiding it. Encouraging the student community to be involved in these inefficient and possibly provocative songs is unnecessary and short-sighted. To build an academic community with healthy academic competition, a limit to “sweet” music is essential. To aid the community’s quality, I propose individuals start listening to classical music or jazz (source on the benefits of classical & jazz music). Sounds a bit extreme? You don’t want the mold to sprout in your walls and diffuse its deadly spore. Music is like a spore and must be controlled cautiously in order to regulate the community’s academic efficiencies.