I know it’s judgmental, but preconceived notions extend to everything. For example, I originally assumed that podcasts were bland, obscure and useless for anyone who’s not pretentious (although, that kind of sounds pretentious in and of itself).
My image of a podcast consisted of the opening of a monotonic 67-year-old man discussing the complexity of a caterpillar’s footprint. Essentially, something of minute importance talked about ad infinitum. Generously speaking, that gets boring after two minutes.
Following this assumption, I didn’t comprehend the extent of podcasts. I didn’t understand the variety of them available, ranging from sports to politics, to comedy and provocateurs, to meditation — there exists something for everyone. The scheduled releases of new podcasts and consisted length per episode are akin to the routines of TV shows.
I mistook podcasts for being obscure relics only found in some clandestine alcove. Like, who actually listens to them? Surprisingly, 40% of Americans have listened to at least one podcast in their life and 24% of Americans listen to podcasts monthly in 2017. That is an estimated 67 million Americans listening every month (see here for more).
I also realized that podcasts weren’t just “conversations.” It’s a heightened form of uninterrupted communication in which we as people never partake. It’s abnormal from our real lives and from every media we engage with.
Radio is the grandfather to podcasts, but has constant commercial interruptions dispersed throughout. On the contrary, most podcasts do not contain commercials after the show starts. Podcasts are flowing conversations that, due to their consistency and length, open incredible dimensions of free thought and expression that manifest as the show transitions its focuses of conversation. This is not experienced in any other realm.
This is especially true in our current time, where everything is premeditated. Our constant planning for social media posts and text messages is completely unnatural. Podcasts’ open dialogue act as a refreshing reminder of our core state as human beings and a reflection on the true social nature humans possess.
Nonetheless, in today’s society, mobility is key. A TV show is genuinely impossible to pay full attention to when you are doing anything — cleaning your room, texting, or eating — because it is a visual stimuli. Podcasts, however, are auditory, so you be can productive while simultaneously focusing on what is being said.
I, for one, do this all the time now. Getting lunch? Podcast. Walking to the bus? Podcast. Getting dressed and cleaning my room? Podcast. I double my productively by learning while getting my shit done.
Now, like everything else, nothing is perfect. Believe it or not, that applies to podcasts as well. Beware that podcasts will make you pretentious and give you a sense of superiority, because of the vast amounts of knowledge you will have accumulated. Use your power wisely and spread your knowledge kindly.