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Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\n Debating the merits of today\u2019s popular music<\/a> versus the hits of the past is largely a matter of taste. But regardless of your opinion on the subject, one thing is clear: pop music<\/a> is objectively darker and more stressful than ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n The compelling statistics are laid out in a study by University of Vienna psychologists recently published in the journal Scientific Reports<\/em><\/a>. After compiling every weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1973 and 2023, the team used standard preprocessing methods to break down the lyrics of 20,186 songs. They then fed these lyrics into a customized algorithm to assess the songs based on their positive or negative sentiments.<\/p>\n As they predicted, the researchers identified a \u201csubstantial increase in stress-related and negative language\u201d over the last five decades. Additionally, it appears that hit lyrics in the United States have steadily simplified over the years. According to the study\u2019s authors, these findings correlate to rising rates of reported depression and anxiety, as well as past research into increased negativity in both news media and fiction books.<\/p>\n However, there were some unexpected discoveries in the team\u2019s review. First, they didn\u2019t pinpoint any clear associations between the increasingly dark and stressed songs and shifts in median household income. Secondly, major traumatic societal events including September 11, 2001 and the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> didn\u2019t result in even bleaker songs. On the contrary, these crises appear to have produced upticks in more positive, lyrically complex pop songs.<\/p>\n \u201cSurprisingly, societal shocks like COVID-19 coincided with attenuations rather than amplifications of these trends, indicating a preference for emotion-incongruent music,\u201d the team wrote<\/a>, although they stopped short of directly linking the two subjects.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the study applies a quasi-experimental, interrupted time-series approach to examine changes surrounding major societal events, the analyses remain observational in nature,\u201d they added. \u201cThus, any observed differences before and after events such as 9\/11 or COVID-19 represent temporal associations, not definitive causal effects.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of subject matter or complexity, the researchers believe that their findings highlight the importance of music in society\u2014especially its ability to help listeners process and navigate an often difficult world.<\/p>\n \t\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 2025 PopSci Outdoor Gift Guide<\/p>\n 20+ editor-approved presents for the hikers on your list<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n \t\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n