Music has been a centerpiece of society for many years and can have a significant influence on someone’s life. It is prevalent for students nowadays to listen to music while they do their schoolwork, but the question is if it affects their performance and time spent completing the task. According to The University of Wollongong Australia, “Music puts us in a better mood, which makes us better at studying, but it also distracts us, which makes us worse at studying. They also explained that “To have the best effectiveness studying, you should find music that keeps you in a good mood, but does not make you too distracted.” In this day and age, depression, anxiety, and many other mental health issues are skyrocketing amongst Americans. Luckily, music is something that can help many people get out of these extremely challenging times in their lives. Medium states that “Music improves memory, attention, can have a beneficial impact on math solutions and even eases depression and anxiety.”

Pennridge High School seniors, Gavin Baranowski and Ryan Benscoter, both have an extreme love for music and agree that it helps them in several ways. When asked if he likes to listen to music when he studies or does homework, Ryan Benscoter stated, “Yes, I love listening to music pretty much all day long… I cannot do homework without listening to some sort of music no matter the genre.” Gavin Baranowski was asked the same question and replied by saying, “I definitely prefer to listen to music when I do my work because it really helps me focus and stay concentrated.” 

Many students believe that music helps them tremendously when it comes to completing their schoolwork, and according to Education Seattlepi, “Classical music can improve intelligence… can have a relaxing, soothing effect and is less distracting than music with lyrics.” A striking statistic supporting the side of music being beneficial is from Common Sense Media. In their article, they explained that “76 percent (of students) often or sometimes listen to music during homework… 50 percent of teens think listening to music helps their work vs. 6 percent who think it hurts.” This shows that overall, music is an excellent stress reliever, can positively impact one’s schoolwork and is an essential part of many people’s lives. 

Benscoter and Baranowski also added they both agree that they get more work done at a more efficient pace when listening to music because of how much it helps take away from the tedious aspect of homework.