Over the past few years, podcasts have risen to become one of the most popular forms of media content. It sometimes seems like everybody has a podcast these days- influencers, celebrities or maybe even someone you know personally. What makes podcasts such an effective form of entertainment?
Podcasts offer something that a lot of other forms of media do not: the ability to multitask while listening. Listeners are able to tune in to podcasts wherever they may be. Movies and television shows usually require the watcher’s full attention, since there is a visual element along with the audio. With podcasts, only using audio makes it easy to casually listen while focusing your visual attention elsewhere. En route to work or class, in the shower, cleaning or while cooking dinner; the options for multitasking are endless, which makes podcasts an incredibly appealing source of entertainment.
Something that podcasts give you that many other forms of media cannot is a sense of intimacy with the content creator. Podcasts are a great way for creators to show their genuine personalities. In a lot of other forms of media, the artist does not usually have a chance to show their true selves to the audience. In movies and television shows, the actor is playing a character. Fans may grow to love the character that the actor is playing, but may barely know anything about the person behind the character. In music, artists are known for the songs that they create, while their personalities may remain a mystery. Many celebrities have actually adopted the podcast format in recent years in order to better reach their fans, including Howie Mandel, Joe Rogan, Jenna Fischer and Emma Chamberlain.
Within podcasting, the creator’s personality is often put on full display. Being real and acting as themselves is what draws many listeners to certain creators they enjoy. The casual format of podcasts also greatly helps with this. Podcasts are like a conversation between friends, generally unscripted and simply about topics that the creator enjoys.
A lot of podcasts tend to focus on topics that are informational or educational, which is definitely a plus for listeners. Other forms of entertainment are usually just that- entertainment. But, when you listen to a podcast, a lot of the time there is something to get out of it. Some of the most popular podcasts on the internet cover things like current events, politics and true crime cases. The range of topics that podcasts cover is vast, however, with other shows covering things like self-help and pop culture, while others are purely comedic. If you can think of a topic, there is probably a podcast about it somewhere on the internet.
Podcasting can also give influencers the opportunity to create more long-form content. A lot of modern social media entertainment has become very short-form, especially in recent years. On the platform TikTok, videos are oftentimes less than a minute long. Youtube videos are 7-15 minutes long on average, while many television episodes are only 20 minutes. Podcasts allow creators to make content that is much longer than what is common nowadays. Many podcasts are at least thirty minutes long, while some can even be over three hours.
I started listening to podcasts for the first time in early 2020 with the show the H3 Podcast. The creators of this podcast were Youtubers that I had previously watched, but once I started listening to their podcast, I completely fell in love with the format. Long-form content was something that I found really enjoyable. After being bombarded with short-form content on apps like Instagram and TikTok, I found it nice to sit back, listen to something casual and spend time with certain creators I genuinely enjoyed.
Something else that is great about podcasts is they are relatively easy to make. This makes content creation very accessible for those who might not be as tech-savvy as other creators. Audio is the key to a good podcast, which means podcasters can start their shows with very little training, without having to deal with video and intense editing. This accessibility means that just about anyone can start a podcast with little technological knowledge. Equipment is also very simple for a podcast, as recording audio can be done right from your phone or laptop.
I think that podcasts are an incredibly valuable form of media that will hopefully only grow more popular in the coming years. If you’ve never listened to a podcast, I’d recommend searching for a topic you enjoy and trying one out. Who knows, you might even learn something!