Why are Kashmiri youth becoming prisoners of their playlists?

It is common to call music as a universal language. It connects, heals, and inspires us. But beneath this harmony lies a more subtle, and sometimes dangerous, influence. Music shapes our feelings, thoughts, and relationship perceptions - often without our conscious awareness. This effect deepens in emotionally sensitive settings like Kashmir, where instability, conflict exposure, and uncertainty have shaped the inner lives of young people for decades.

Music does not just entertain here , it becomes emotional therapy, a coping mechanism, and sometimes also a silent trigger. Brain regions like the Hippocampus (for memory association), Prefrontal cortex (for meaning and judgment), Auditory cortex (for rhythm), and Amygdala (for emotional processing) are all involved. In Kashmir’s context, where trauma is more prevalent and support system is limited, this makes youth more emotionally absorbent.

The pull towards such engaging trends is not random; it’s driven by algorithms that relentlessly push and resurface trending songs into feeds. Unless you intentionally filter what you consume, you end up absorbing these patterns, often without realizing it. For those in the fragile process of emotional healing after years-long relationship breakups, this is exactly what undoes months, sometimes years of progress.

During therapy sessions, I’ve seen how lyrics can steer emotional recovery. One of my young clients — a girl on a promising healing journey after a breakup — had made significant progress. But when she encountered another heartbreak where a song’s lyrics hit too close. Past memories replayed. The same brain circuits that had been active during her earlier trauma lit up again, slowing her recovery and pulling her back into the same emotional pain. What began as casual listening became an unconscious relapse trigger.

This isn’t accidental it is the psychology of emotional congruency. When an artist’s message matches the listener’s emotional state, the mind absorbs it deeply. Add to this the halo effect: once we connect to an artist, their popularity among masses and “trend” status become green lights in our brain, making us drop our critical guard.

In Kashmir, the effect is compounded by social realities: unemployment, early relationships, exposure to conflict, and fragile identity formation. It also takes advantage of an age when hormones are at their peak, energy levels are high, identity is still forming, and conforming to strong patterns whether in love, rebellion, or violence feels instinctively natural. In such a state, the mind easily absorbs and mirrors whatever narrative is repeated most often.

Decoding key lines from some of the most trending songs:

From Violent Street by Sidhu Moose Wala:

“Akha ch drug, dab vich barood, taliyan ch jan laike ghumde sadaka te”

Translation: “Walking the streets with life in their palms, eyes full of drugs, gunpowder in the crate.”

Impact: Romanticizing drug use, weapon culture, and street survival as markers of power and prestige.

From We Rollin by Shubh:

“Mere dabb 32 bore thalle kaali car ae”

Translation: There is a black car and 32 bore under my jacket.

“Ni ae vadd khaande, pange jaan jaan lainde”

Translation: “They take up big challenges; they risk life and death.”

“Assi baithe’an bithaya bande uthan ni dinde”

Translation: “We settle people in their seats—we don’t let them get up.”

“Lainde minto mint patt, na tu hass balliye” Translation: “We beat them in minutes—don’t you laugh, girl.”

Impact : These lines reinforce themes of dominance, authority, and defiance ,depicting group allegiance, weapon pride, and resilience through adversity all of which can subtly influence emotional and behavioral norms for impressionable listeners.

From Saiyaara — Faheem Abdullah:

Haaye, main mar hi jaaun jo tujhko na paaun

Translation: “Oh, I would die without you; I lose myself in your words at night.”

Impact: Instills a harmful mentality in emotionally vulnerable young people by implying that love is equivalent to possession and that loss is intolerable

In the context of Kashmir, where young people already carry the weight of political uncertainty and fragile support systems, these messages can sink deep, called subliminal priming. They can manifest in reckless driving, imitation of mafia culture and extreme emotional reactions to breakups. Music here is not just a reflection of mood; it can become a behavioural compass.

In the Sufi tradition, music was a disciplined, purposeful force and purely intentional, used for grounding and spiritual growth under trained guidance. Today, with no such cultural filters, it can unconsciously condition the mind syncing identity, mood, and self-worth to a playlist. For Gen-Z in Kashmir, music cannot simply be “switched off,” but listening can be approached mindfully, with awareness of its power. With grounding practices and conscious absorption, music can return to being a source of resilience rather than a hidden trap.

In the end, we must pause and introspect. If music is a drug, then who is our dealer — the artist, the algorithm, or the unresolved memories that keep rewinding inside us?

 Umair Ashraf, Freelance Psychologist, Independent Researcher in Neuroscience.