In the past week, Bunbury, a summer music festival in my hometown, has released five “hive hints” on social media. These hints allow the rest of the city’s hipsters, rockers and music-lovers to guess the headliners and bands playing at the upcoming event. I, for one, am ecstatic for this year’s festival. Last summer, I had a blast and the musicians who played were phenomenal. The sounds softly echoed across the lengthy grass lawn, and it was incredible. The popularized three-day festival provided more than just some fun and excitement; it gave me a sense of pride and unity with the music lovers surrounding me. Being a teenager in this generation is much harder than it seems. Most people stereotype teens based on the highlighted music preferences in today’s world. Personally, I have been subjected to this generalization by both family, acquaintances, co-workers and even my friends. Through social media, however, I’ve been given a chance to stress the fact that not all teens care for the same genres of music. Everyone is different, everyone likes different things, and in my opinion, everyone has a good taste of music based on what they love to listen to. This realization only brings us, as a generation, closer together.

Although IPhones, computers and technology, in general, are often looked at in negative ways, these devices have positively changed my life. Websites, apps and other aspects of technology continue to improve the musical world. They change how we discover new music and they allow us to develop new musical tastes. Pandora, for example, has dictated my life for the past few years. Based on the “stations” I’ve created for the bands that I like, Pandora presents me with options for other musicians. I personally love this aspect of the website considering I hate listening to the same song or artist over and over again. To me, diversity is what social media is all about. Pandora gives me, as well as the rest of the world, a chance to discover a genre or lifestyle that we could’ve never recognized by ourselves.

Although Facebook’s popularity has somewhat diminished in the past few years, I continue to use it on a daily basis. Unlike what most people think, I don’t use it to keep up with the high-school drama or to contact my distant family members. Instead, I use it to keep up with my favorite bands. Facebook has proved to me that it can be so much more useful than what it’s generally recognized for. I’m able to like, share and comment on the posts of the many bands I’ve come to love, but I’m also able to see the many bands and musicians my “friends” have come to love. Most of the time, I’m surprised to see that someone I know has the same taste in music that I do. This makes the world a little bit smaller and a little more bearable. I’ve recently realized that Facebook is a great source for finding new music based on the people you’re “friends” with, and based on your own likes.  It’s amazing to see that bands you once thought were unnoticeable or unknown are actually followed and enjoyed by so many other people.

Through social media and its many perks, my life has become a little more interesting. Even though I once thought that I was the weird one in this modern generation, I’ve come to see that there are so many others like me. Pandora, Facebook, Spotify and other musical apps bring diverse interests, distinct genres and peculiar people together. Thanks to the new and upcoming world of technology, differences within the music world can be celebrated. This type of celebration occurs at places like Bunbury where it doesn’t matter where you came from, what type of music you’ve grown up listening to, or what you enjoy now. The musical world and the technological world are one in the same; they both provide a place where you can have a sense of pride and freedom in your own interests.