Did you know that Internet downloads and MP3 players are creating a generation of people who don't seriously appreciate music and musical performances? That's according to a group of British
researchers, which found that widespread access to music via downloads has led to a certain kind of listener apathy and "lack of emotional commitment once associated with music appreciation,"
according to music psychologist Adrian North, who was quoted in an AFP (global news agency Agence France-Presse) report.
The psychologist led a team from the University of Leicester in
central England that monitored 346 people over two weeks to evaluate how they related to music. North's team concluded that because of greater accessibility through mass media, music is increasingly
viewed as a commodity.
"The pace of technological change has accelerated further over the last 20 years or so and these fundamental changes in the nature of musical experience and value have
arguably become even more pronounced," North told AFP. "Because so much music of different styles and genres is now so widely available via portable MP3 players and the Internet, it is arguable that
people now actively use music in everyday listening contexts to a much greater extent than ever before."
North concluded: "The degree of accessibility and choice has arguably led to a rather
passive attitude towards music heard in everyday life." Take that and download it into your iPod.