The Spotify "Stalker"
by Anna Schmitz
I don't think the people who invented Spotify intended for it to become a social media platform. For most, it might not even be considered a social media platform. For me, Spotify is arguably my favorite form of social media to use. Although you can't share or like or post things like other platforms, one thing you can do is follow your friends and see what they listen to. We would all be lying to ourselves if we said we never remembered someone from our past and took a little peek at their page or even just been curious about our friends' old posts. Social media "stalking" has become a part of people's lives, and when people post everything on the internet…well it's pretty much fair game.
The reason, therefore, that Spotify is my favorite form of social media, is my ability to stalk my friends. I think it's a pretty innocent form of stalking, as it's done out of pure curiosity. I love seeing what people are listening to, how they organize their playlists, how different songs make them feel. Everyone interprets music so differently, and seeing how their taste differs from mine is just fascinating to me. At different times throughout the day I find myself flicking between homework tabs and Spotify, and while I shuffle my own playlists, I always take a peek at what playlists and songs my friends are listening to.
A favorite pastime of mine is organizing my own music into playlists, as I'm sure is common for most other people. When I look at my friends' pages, seeing the way they organize their music is so fun. The photos they choose for their playlists, the super specific names, the collection of songs that make them feel a certain way or remind them of a certain time. It tells you so much about a person, especially your friends. I really thought that this was what everyone used Spotify for. Well, besides listening to music of course.
Anyways, keeping up with what my friends are listening to has become a bit of an inside joke between us. They always tell me that they forget that I "stalk" them and joke about making quirky playlists for me to see when I go on their profile. Although it's funny for all of us, I genuinely think connecting and relating to people and their experiences through music is a really special thing that wouldn't have even been possible years ago. The creation of streaming platforms like Spotify allow people to see what others listen to and discover more music than they ever could've in the past. So, although social media stalking has gotten a bad wrap, I think Spotify stalking is more of a wholesome way to connect with your friends.