Look at any teenager with AirPods in 24/7 and you can be sure of one thing: music is integral to the lives of Gen Z. And I'm no different. I love music, and I... mostly love running. As a varsity runner for my high school's cross country and track team, I definitely love the sport, but sometimes running eight to ten miles alone during the off-season can get a little tedious.

Yet that's where music saves the day. I can shuffle my favorite artists on Spotify, choosing which genre I want to listen to based on how I'm feeling, and turn my brain off. Suddenly I don't have to run five more miles, it's just 35 more minutes or ten to twelve songs. So every time I have to train on my own in between seasons, I turn on the tunes.

But that all changed when I went to the highlight of my year: summer camp. Being at a running-focused camp, there was no shortage of athletes I could train with and talk to during easy runs, and being located in Big Bear made each workout feel like a sightseeing adventure in the forest. Clearly at camp I had no need for the music: running there was fun and I didn't need an extra push to keep me going.

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When I got back from camp and headed out for a six-miler on my own, I decided to leave my phone and the music behind. And the run went great. It felt so intentional as I paid attention to my stride, form, and how my heart rate was changing throughout.

I thought about my goals for the season and how I plan on working towards them. And that's when I realized that the music was never helping me, it was distracting me. So here's my case for why you might just benefit from taking a break from the music.

Why is Music a Problem?

Music is great. But as the saying goes, too much of a good thing can often be a bad thing. Firstly, music can be pretty distracting.

Listening to your favorite songs while studying can prevent you from fully digesting the information you read, as your brain has to distinguish between the words your eyes are reading and the ones your ears are hearing in the lyrics. Plus, switching between playlists and artists, skipping songs, and being interrupted by ads all add to the distraction.

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Still, a key draw of music is its ability to fill any silence. Solo tasks like cleaning your room or driving to school are pretty quiet, and music provides enjoyable background noise to fill that silence.

But is that really a good thing? We spend so little time in silence with our own thoughts, as we check our phones when life gets boring for even a moment, and turn on the tunes when things feel a bit too quiet. And are your best thoughts really going to be had when scrolling TikTok or shuffling a Spotify playlist?

Boredom and silence are necessary for higher-level thinking whether you're studying, making an important decision, or simply engaging in a little self-reflection. So maybe drowning out that silence isn't always such a good thing.

Another thing I've noticed is that listening to music can often prevent many teens from socializing with each other. At high school and college campuses, many teenagers always have an AirPod in whether they're walking to class or even during lessons. While it may seem harmless, when you put in those earbuds you're making the decision to tune out the world around you and are signaling to others that you're not interested in conversation. In this way, music can often prevent teens from socializing with one another, stopping potential lifelong friendships from being formed.

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So, Who's to Blame?

The ease of accessibility to music is part of the issue. While being able to listen to any song with the touch of a screen is very convenient, apps like Spotify and Apple Music contribute to both the overstimulation and the decrease in socialization that Gen Z has been experiencing.

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Spotify has also gamified music listening. The annual anticipation and craze over Spotify Wrapped, the music app's recap of your year in listening, makes a competition out of who's been listening the most. Many in Gen Z quickly turn to social media to post about how they had 56,000 minutes of listening this year or how they're a top 0.5% listener of their favorite artist.

And when constantly listening to music becomes a game, people want to win. No longer is it about enjoying your favorite songs, it's about racking up the most minutes—while your attention and focus silently suffer.

What Can We Do?

Listening to music is awesome, but in moderation. The most important thing for Gen Z, in my opinion, is to live in the moment and not be constantly distracted by devices. When you're in class or with your friends, be present in what you're doing and try to keep your phone and earbuds away. For important tasks that require intense focus, like writing a research paper or studying for finals, minimize distractions by sticking to a single playlist or opting for lo-fi beats without lyrics in them.

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Try your best not to buy into the hype. Spotify Wrapped is fun, but don't think you're any less of a real fan just because your friend's Wrapped shows they listened to 400 more minutes of Frank Ocean than you did. As for the benefit of being in silence with your own thoughts, try to set aside some time every day, even as little as ten minutes, to reflect on the day without any distractions.

And while those silent moments might feel a little empty at first, when you do choose to turn the music back on, it'll be all the more rewarding.