Listening in
More than a billion people subscribe to podcasts. More than 39 million people have listened to a podcast in the last month, and one in five podcast listeners listen to six or more per week. Why is this format so popular? As a medium, it’s slower and less interactive than reality television. It lacks television’s visual stimulation, and it requires sustained attention, which experts tell us we are becoming less and less good at.
Many podcasts are interview-based, which hints at what attracts and holds the audience: intimacy. When I walk side by side with a friend, we tell each other stories and comment on one another’s lives. We are in a dance of revealing ourselves and holding ourselves back. We are sharing an intimate experience.
I’m in a somewhat similar position when I’m listening to podcasts. I feel as if I’m being carried into an intimate space of attention and exchange between the voices on the podcast and my own thoughts.
