Finnish researchers discovered men form their strongest musical connections at age 16, while women peak at 19. The study analyzed nearly 2,000 people across 84 countries who identified personally meaningful music. Scientists used Spotify data to determine listener ages when songs were released. The three-year difference reflects how gender shapes musical identity during adolescence. Men typically use intense music for rebellion and peer identity in mid-teens, while women engage songs for broader emotional and social purposes that develop later. Memory patterns diverge with age: men maintain lifelong connections to teenage music, but women increasingly favor recent songs as they grow older. Researchers found three patterns: the adolescence “reminiscence bump,” a “cascading bump” connecting younger listeners to parents’ music, and a “recency bump” in older adults preferring newer songs. (Story URL)

PHONE TOPIC: What music have you grown out of as you’ve gotten older?