By Stephen Beech
Songs from our teenage years have the biggest emotional impact, reveals new research.
Men have the greatest attachment to tunes from when they were 16 years of age while women relate most to songs from when they were 19 or older, according to the findings.
The disparity may be because men often cement their musical identity earlier, say scientists.
The global study found that our most “emotionally resonant” music tends to come from our teenage years, peaking around the age of 17.
The pronounced pattern – known as the “reminiscence bump”- reflects our tendency to form the strongest emotional ties to music from our teenage years, according to scientists.
They say that the “bump” helps explain why songs from adolescence often remain deeply meaningful – even decades later.
But the pattern isn’t fixed with its intensity shifting across the years and reveals different trends for men and women.
Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, drew responses from nearly 2,000 participants in 84 countries.
The participants were asked to identify a piece of music that held “profound” personal meaning for them.
Study lead author Dr. Iballa Burunat says the reminiscence bump for music exists because it hits a perfect neurological and biographical sweet spot.
She said: “Think of the adolescent brain as a sponge, supercharged by curiosity and a craving for reward, but without a fully developed filter.
“And it’s because it’s still maturing that our strong emotional experiences, such as the songs we love, get absorbed more deeply and vividly, and leave a lasting impression; so the persistence of this reminiscence effect just shows how fundamental music is in identity formation.”
The findings, published in the journal Memory, showed that, in men, the reminiscence bump peaked earlier, around age 16, while in women the peak came later, after the age of 19.
Dr Burunat said: “As we do not have rich qualitative data from the participants, we can only speculate based on previous work on psychology and gender differences.”
She says psychology research suggests that men often cement their musical identity earlier through adolescent bonding and independence.
But women’s musical identity develops over a longer period, shaped by emotional connections and relationship milestones into young adulthood, a pattern often reinforced for women by society.
Dr Burunat says that could explain why women’s strongest music memories peak slightly later.
She said, “Music unfolds over time.
“Its rhythm, melody, and structure provide a kind of sequential framework, a timeline.”
Dr. Burunat says another key factor may be the musical genres themselves.
She says men often gravitate toward “intense, rebellious genres” that fuel teenage identity and independence – a phase that peaks early.
But women tend to engage with a wider spectrum of music – from pop to soul to classical – often using it also as a tool for strengthening social bonds.
Dr. Burunat says the broader purposes extend well beyond the teenage years and are often tied to vivid memories of specific social moments and relationships – and may therefore contribute to a later peak in musical memory.
The study also shows that our connection to music continues to evolve throughout life, but differently for men and women.
Dr. Burunat said: “Our data clearly shows that for men, music from adolescence becomes a lasting anchor for personal meaning, a finding that could be explained by society’s focus on youth and rebellion in shaping masculine identity.
“Conversely, for women, the connection to music tends to shift over time, particularly starting in their mid-forties onward, as they commonly use music as a flexible tool for emotional expression and social bonding throughout their lives.
“This may explain why their most meaningful musical connections often shift to recent songs tied to current relationships, personal growth, or new experiences, sometimes even holding more emotional weight than the music from their youth.”
But the study also revealed a “twist” that defies generational boundaries: younger listeners, both men and women, often form deep connections to music released decades before they were born – typically from around 25 years earlier.
Researchers term the phenomenon the “cascading reminiscence bump” – and they believe it reflects strong cross-generational influence, likely shaped by music introduced by parents, family, or enduring cultural icons from earlier eras.
Dr. Burunat says that music remains one of the most powerful tools we have for connecting to our past.
She said: “I think it helps to think of music like a scent: it bypasses our brain’s language centres and brings a past moment to life in a non-verbal, immediate way.
“But unlike a smell, music unfolds over time.
“Its rhythm, melody, and structure provide a kind of sequential framework, a timeline.
“And it’s this extraordinary combination that allows music to act as both a time machine and a storyteller, helping us recall not just a feeling but the entire context of an event.”
Dr. Burunat added, “What our findings make clear is that music is far more than just entertainment.
“Undoubtedly, music is an archive of our most meaningful memories and, ultimately, a foundation for our sense of self because it tells the story of who we are, who we were, and how we’ve grown.”
