Modern Isolation and the Appeal of Podcasts

                I imagine it might not shock many of you to learn that someone who does as many books, blogs, podcasts, and other forms of entertainment as me is prone to pondering. Often this takes the form of daydreaming about characters and plots, some that eventually find their way onto pages, but it’s just as much about mulling over other aspects of my business in the hopes of making them better.

                For some while, I’ve been contemplating the sudden rise of popularity in podcasts. Some of them have clear-cut appeal: episodes with lots of information or unique perspectives on topics that might interest the listener. But others simply don’t, yet they can be just as, if not more, appealing. That’s not some sort of condemnation either, I was patient zero in a great many of these observations. There were some podcasts I didn’t necessarily care about the content for, it was just nice listening to the people who were hosting them, though I could never quite put my finger on why.

                It was Heather Anne Campbell on a promo for the podcast How Did This Get Played that suddenly brought everything into sharp focus for me, all with a single line. As they were doing a pitch for their new premium content, the hosts said something to the effect of:

“So if you love what we do on the podcast-”

“-Or you’ve just formed a parasocial relationship with our voices, tune in.”

                And damn, I think I stopped in my tracks right there when she said it, because instantly so much of that appeal I couldn’t figure out slid into place. While parasocial specifically means a one-sided relationship that things like podcast necessitate because the creator can’t know every single listener, it was more the ‘social’ part that stuck out to me. Because I think for me, and for a lot of other folks, that might be the biggest appeal of the podcasts we keep on constant rotation.

                The idea of what makes a community has been changing, probably since its inception, but for our purposes we’re focusing on the last few decades. Even ignoring the current lockdown situation, we as a species have been moving away from social interaction as much as possible. Texts over calling, self-checkout, apps that streamline everything down to needing a few spoken words, at most. I’m not pulling an old-man yells at sky mind you, technology develops chasing our needs and desires, the world looks this way because it’s what most people wanted. If we overextend, we can pull things back, but always by moving forward, not trying to recapture what is already gone.

                However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be things left unintentionally by the wayside on the march of progress, and one of those things was daily socialization. Much as many folks don’t like interacting with others regularly, part of you is probably always going to crave it. No matter how many fancy hives we build or pretty coverings we put on our flesh, humans are still pack animals. We want the sense of interaction, the familiar feeling of sitting down to relax with friends, only sometimes without all the messy complications that come along with those relationships. Getting everyone on board, finding a time, making adjustments as people drop out, that’s what it takes to have a few friends over to play board games in your 30s, and I don’t expect it will be getting much easier from here.

                Enter the podcast, where you can start from the very beginning or jump in feet first and play catchup. Where you can skip past any topics or parts you find boring. Where, assuming they’re running a quality enterprise, you know there will always be more content waiting at the same time regularly. It’s a simulated social relationship that works at your convenience.

                That sounds a tad crazy in concept, I know, but take a moment and imagine that you have a magic button in your pocket. Whenever you press it, a door appears, and stepping through takes you into a room of your friends talking about some pointless topic. Every time you leave, time stops in place until your return. How many of us would run to that room after stressful meetings, long commutes, or just tough days where we wanted to unwind? In a way, that’s what podcasts are, as you grow fonder of the cast and material. And sure, I recognize that it is a little odd to think of people we have never and likely will never meet in a friend-capacity, but honestly, it would be even stranger to listen to someone for tens-to-hundreds of hours and not feel some manner of bond.

                What’s especially interesting is the way that communities can form around these podcasts, giving people true social interaction built upon the shared connection of their enterprise. I’m on the Discord for the Doughboys podcast, and we run one for Authors & Dragons as well, the purpose of these places is to let people with a shared fandom find, connect, and talk with one another. Going to live shows, like the one for Action Boyz in Dallas a few weeks back, are curious assemblies of folks from all different walks of life, brought together with a very particular common ground.

                None of this is meant to make you feel bad for forming parasocial bonds to a podcast, or show, or whatever piece of familiar interaction helps you make it through the day. I do find it’s beneficial to identify which sources I turn to for specific entertainment versus just the joy of listening in, as it helps me better select what I need when its time to grab the earphones.

                Meanwhile, if you’re a content creator, this is something you absolutely want to be cognizant of. Although we didn’t realize we were doing it at the time (the power of inexperience) Authors & Dragons took a lot of steps early on to better engage with our audience and deepen that bond, like running the liveblog and taking questions at the end of every episodes. Those were lucky breaks; the additions we’ve made since then, things like the Discord, A&D At the Movies, live events, those were intentionally built with our audience, and the kind of social appeal we have, in mind. Knowing what you do best and offering to the most people allows you to consistently put your best foot forward, as well as making improvements that fans will enjoy.

                So if you too have gone through three hours of a podcast and retained none of it yet still felt satisfied with the experience, hopefully this helped shed a little light on what you might be getting from your favorite shows without even noticing. Or, if you’re on the lookout for voices to bond with that you don’t ever have to see in person, Authors & Dragons is up over the 100 episodes mark, and that’s not counting the tons of Side Quests and other content available.

                Whatever source of safely distant socializing you choose, I hope it keeps your spirits lifted until things start getting back to normal!