One’s music taste can give away a lot about a person, namely how they identify in society, especially during the period of adolescence. Just like fashion choice, music is an important part of our identity, and an outlet for many people, especially teenagers, to escape life’s daily stresses and settle into an outlet which allows them to tap into a part of themselves deeper and more reflective than is tangible in the midst of everyday life.

Whether it's a slow, reflective beat or a dreamy background instrumental, or perhaps an upbeat tempo to lighten up your day, music can evoke feeling and emotion in ways that other forms of media consumption cannot. Music comes in an indescribable variety, and this is part of the reason that people tie their identity so closely to it. Lyrics also play a bit part in why people listen (on average for up to two hours a day, according to research). Lyrics are like poetry: they can be viewed in the same way as literature, in the sense that they give us an insight into our thoughts and feeling and the world around us.

Building on from the fact that music helps us establish a sense of identity in society, it is often a common ground between friendships, helping us find like-minded people who can relate to ideas expressed in the lyrics just as we can, or perhaps just enjoy listening to a particular tempo or musical instrument prevalent in a certain band or musical artist.

I myself have friends whom I have formed a deep connection with partly based on our shared love for the same music, one who says ‘I enjoy music as it can act as a form of escapism’.

And, it can, act as a form of escapism: growing up in a society full of expectations and general life stress and pressure requires an outlet to relax and reflect, or simply to dance away the stressful feelings that come with it.

So, whether it’s Tame Impala or Taylor Swift, music can be invaluable in understanding who we are as individuals and also as an outlet: ‘a form of escapism’.