聽音樂也會有“代溝”嗎

Do you ever listen to the songs that your parents like? Chances are that you don’t. You probably think the music that they like is old and dull and that the songs on your playlist are much cooler.

你是否聽過父母那輩愛聽的歌曲？答案很有可能是否定的。你或許會認爲他們喜歡的音樂過時又無聊，而自己歌單上的歌曲要酷多了。

But here is what scientists found recently: people’s music tastes change as they age, according to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. So it is likely that your own musical preferences will follow a similar path to your parents’, whether you like it or not.

但據《人格與社會心理學》雜誌發佈的一份研究表示，科學家們近期發現，人們的音樂品味會隨着年齡而改變。所以不論你喜歡與否，你自己的音樂喜好很有可能在走父母的老路。

We used to think that culture and personality are the only factors that affect one’s music choice. But researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK, gathered data from more than 250,000 people over the past 10 years. They noticed that as people age, their social circumstances change, and so does their music taste.

過去，我們認爲只有文化和性格才能影響個人的音樂選擇。但英國劍橋大學的研究人員在過去的十年間收集了超過25萬人的數據，他們發現隨着人們年齡增長，其身處的社會環境會發生變化，而音樂品味也會有所改變。

There are three musical periods that people pass through as they mature – “intense” , “contemporary” and “sophisticated”.

隨着人們日漸成熟，他們會經歷“熱情”、“時下流行”以及“成熟”三段音樂時期。

The first period comes in the teenage years, during which people like intense music such as punk and rock because teenagers tend to be aggressive and want to establish their identities as independent individuals.

第一段時期發生在青少年時代，人們喜歡朋克以及搖滾等熱情的音樂，因爲十幾歲的青少年都有股衝勁，想要讓自己成爲獨立的個體。

But as people move into early adulthood, their lifestyle changes – they socialize more and want to build close relationships with others. As a result, they become more fond of contemporary music, such as pop and R&B, which is usually uplifting and danceable and played at parties where people hang out together and chat.

但隨着人們到了成年人早期，他們的生活方式發生了變化 —— 他們更加頻繁地社交，想要和他人建立起親密關係。因此，他們變得更喜歡當代音樂，如流行音樂與節奏布魯斯等。這些音樂往往振奮人心、適合跳舞，通常會在人們一起玩樂閒聊的派對上播放。

When middle age comes, things have settled down for most people. This period will be dominated by more “sophisticated” music, such as jazz and classical, as well as more catchy music like country, folk and blues.

隨着中年時代的到來，大多數人都已安定了下來。更加“成熟”的音樂，如爵士樂、古典樂以及鄉村音樂、民謠、藍調等更爲朗朗上口的音樂在這一時期成爲了主流。

“For many, this life stage is frequently exhausted by work and family, and there is a requirement for relaxing, emotive music,” Jason Rentfrow, a research member, told The Telegraph.

“對於不少人而言，這一人生階段常常爲工作和家庭所累，所以需要一些放鬆又動情的音樂，”研究人員之一的Jason Rentfrow在接受《每日電訊報》採訪時表示。

But you must be thinking: “Aren’t there old people who are still into rock music?”

但你一定在想：“難道上年紀的人就沒有喜歡搖滾的嗎？”

Of course there are. But Rentfrow explained that their reasons for listening to rock music may have changed. “We use music for different reasons,” he said, and thus at that age people may listen to remind themselves of their youths.

這樣的人當然存在。但Rentfrow解釋稱，他們聽搖滾樂的原因或許已經有所不同。“我們聽音樂有着各種各樣的理由，”他表示。因此，那個年紀的人聽搖滾樂或許是爲了追憶青春。