The reasons why we love, appreciate and enjoy listening to music may be one of the greatest mysteries of all time. While we may have some clues to why music can make us feel a certain way, we’re still very much in the dark as to why – and how – music can make us feel those strong emotions in the first place.

And it’s those strong emotions which lead us to build such long-lasting connections to the songs, albums and artists that then accompany us throughout our lives, especially those we connect with during our tumultuous teenage years. For some reason, the songs we listen to in our youth are often the ones that stick with us – as we grow older, we’re less likely to listen to the newer, chart-approved songs and more likely to reminisce over the music we once knew.

But why is this? When do we suddenly stop having the ability to like new things? Recent research might just hold the answer.

Science has already shown that our music tastes begin to form as early as the age of 13 or 14. According to a 2018 study from The New York Times, by our early 20s, we’re pretty much set on what we do and don’t like music wise, and new research has proven that we actually tend to stop listening to new music by the time we reach 30.

The real reason you start to hate new music as you grow older