Can Music Have Negative Effects on People?

There’s a B-side to music you didn’t know

Photo by Maria Teneva from Unsplash

Who doesn’t like music?

If you put aside Freud’s disgust for music, most of us enjoy listening to or playing music.

But there’s another side of the music we don’t look at very often (or we’ve never thought of).

American songwriter Ani DiFranco says, “Every tool is a weapon if you hold it right”…or if you use it wrong, I might add.

And that applies to music as well.

Despite my love and everyday work with music, I want to share with you the negative effects of music on people. It’s not something I enjoy writing about, but I feel it’s necessary to share it with all of you.

Let’s dive in!

# 1 — Music can make us see the world more negatively

Photo by Vlad Tchompalov from Unsplash

Sometimes when we assess things in front of us we’re influenced by cues we’re not aware of at the moment.

That’s the case with background music.

Judging other people’s faces differently because…