Blasting The Beats

Why Some People Love Playing Loud Music From Their Cars

By
Relationship Advice Expert April Masini

Q: Dear April Masini,

I hate when I'm out driving and am stopped at a red light next to another driver who is blasting obnoxious music from their car stereo. Or worse, when I'm in bed trying to sleep and someone is stopped at the intersection outside my window with their loud music blaring. Why do some people (teens and adults) love playing loud music from their cars?

Sincerely,

Turn Down the Volume

A:

Dear Turn Down the Volume,

Drivers blasting loud music from their cars can be really annoying, but there are reasons why people do so.

Why teens and young adults play loud music from cars:

1. Loud music makes you feel like you're somewhere other than where you actually are. Music changes your environment. Loud music changes your environment more than soft music. If you don't like the idea that you're driving your parents car, cranking up some very loud rap music will make you feel less like your parents, and more like someone who's wild, young, and free.

People who still need to individuate will use loud music to help them do that -- or to just feel individuated.

2. Lots of people really enjoy music, and the louder the music, the more chance they have to hear the music and drown out all other sounds like cell phones ringing, cars honking, tires screeching, and other sounds of life. More and more people want to tune out the world and create their own little worlds. Blaring music helps them tune out more than soft music.

3. Look at me! Loud music blared from car speakers, and not from ear buds or headsets really calls attention to the driver and/or the people in the car from which the loud music is blaring. People who blare loud music from cars want to be noticed.

What's the societal impact of loud music blared from cars?

The societal impact of blaring music is that people who blare music feel more like the person they want to feel like, and less like the person who's just playing the music at a normal volume.

In addition, people who blare music create an impact on other people. By tuning out their environments, they're actually creating more of an impact on other people's environments. Using headsets or ear buds gives privacy, but blaring the music is attention getting.

April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas, and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.

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