Why music is better than Facebook

Every month, 1.6 billion people post an update, upload a photo, or send a message via the suite of apps that comprise Facebook. Every day, the average Facebook user spends 50 minutes liking, commenting, posting, or messaging. Indeed, Facebook counts one half of the world’s Internet users, or a fifth of the world’s population as active monthly users.

That all sounds pretty incredible until you realise that it pales in comparison to music. Music is a human universal that counts 7.3 Billion individuals — the entire global population — as active 'users'. The average person in the developed world spends almost four hours every day listening to music.

And music enriches our lives in ways Facebook can only dream of. At least, I have yet to see research showing that Facebook activity enhances cognitive functions such as attention and memory or creativity, regulates mood and affect, or modulates cardiovascular, physiological and endocrine systems to the extent musical activity does.

Different experiences

The difference, of course, lies in the experiences they create. Facebook and music cater to different human needs.

Although its purported aim is to connect us with each other, Facebook in fact provides a platform to tell the world how great our lives are. If we're not active on Facebook, we essentially don't exist. And all the while, Facebook quietly monetises the mountain of data we willingly serve up. It does of course connect us, but only a truly naive individual would actually believe 'connecting the world' was the primary, altruistic aim of a company worth well over 300 billion dollars.

Musical activity, on the other hand, genuinely fulfils more positive needs, such as our desire to connect with each other, to seek pleasure, and to understand the world around us. Music lifts us up, it comforts us. We use music to modify and attenuate our moods and emotions. It enriches our lives in ways no social media ever can.

Simply put, music is better than Facebook in terms of the breadth and depth of experiences it creates.

The most valuable company on the planet

From a business perspective, however, Facebook can’t be touched. In fact, it has grown exponentially to become the world’s fourth biggest company. And it’s done so by monetising our lives almost imperceptibly, tracking our every move and serving up targeted ads to cater to our every whim. And with our ever-increasing willingness to forego privacy for convenience, it seems destined to become the most valuable company on the planet. Especially in light of Zuckerberg’s ambition to reach 5 billion users by 2030.

All of which begs an obvious question: With five times the number of active users engaged for almost five times longer, all of whom enjoy a more positive and engaging experience, why does music generate so little revenue in comparison?

What do you think of this post? Please share your thoughts in the comments :)

Geoff Luck is Assoc. Prof. at the Finnish Centre For Interdisciplinary Music Research and an expert on music perception and cognition. In his new book, The Experience Factor, he reveals how songwriters and composers can write more captivating music, music fans can intensify their listening experience and industry professionals can maximise audience engagement all by understanding the basic science behind the sound.