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I think this is a kind of psychology question because some of us dislike listening without visual back-up. I've tried to listen to podcasts, but I can't focus on words alone, unless they are written. Which scares me if my vision goes and all I have are audio books.
There's so many great podcasts but my mind wanders if all I see is a motionless image. So I'm probably missing out on some good info, but it just doesn't work for me. My highly-educated sister says the same.
So, do you listen to podcasts while doing other stuff, like cooking or dishes or exercise? That doesn't really appeal to me, as I'd rather have a music background since even cooking requires some focus.
I guess I just "need the visual" to really absorb important info. It seems like words in a book provoke images that make it real, whereas spoken words alone don't seem to.
I'm so scatterbrained that things like audiobooks and podcasts are a must; but If I just sit motionlessly and listen i'll go deaf and only hear my wandering thoughts SO I only listen to podcasts/audiobooks if i'm doing something else.
I think this is a kind of psychology question because some of us dislike listening without visual back-up. I've tried to listen to podcasts, but I can't focus on words alone, unless they are written. Which scares me if my vision goes and all I have are audio books.
There's so many great podcasts but my mind wanders if all I see is a motionless image. So I'm probably missing out on some good info, but it just doesn't work for me. My highly-educated sister says the same.
So, do you listen to podcasts while doing other stuff, like cooking or dishes or exercise? That doesn't really appeal to me, as I'd rather have a music background since even cooking requires some focus.
I guess I just "need the visual" to really absorb important info. It seems like words in a book provoke images that make it real, whereas spoken words alone don't seem to.
IMHO a podcast isn't really any different from a tape or even an LP recorded lesson. The hosting technology is just different. If I need/want to learn something from a podcast I don't do anything else while listening to it and I am tolerable at some multi-tasking. Learning something by reading a book is under more of your immediate control from second to second. You can pause, ponder, go back, re-read, then continue on after every sentence if necessary. Less so a podcast. It flows along at its pace, not yours unless you stop it, rewind, or whatever. That can get annoying.
I grew up at a time where the family shared a TV screen and we had maybe 10 options of what to watch. However radio had the options of earbuds was mobile and able to offer more options. The radio then became background noise as well as a primary form of entertainment.
So I see podcast as no different from radio, except it is more diverse as much of radio is now partisan politics, sports, increasingly narrow cast music and infomercials.
I listen to no less than 10, depending on my mood. 3 of them are political and that keeps me educated on the mess this country is in. a Couple are psychology based, a couple comedy ones, relationship ones, etc. I absolutely love them and always learn something new.
To me, a podcast is like listening to a radio program. I actually prefer it to watching TV because I can do many things simultaneously while listening.
I live alone and am not much of a TV watcher (in fact, if I ever move, I am not taking my TV with me or replacing it), so I listen to about a dozen podcasts regularly, mostly true-crime and science-based. I also really like audiobooks, because I can do other things while listening, whether driving, or puttering around the house or garden. The audiobooks also prevent me from sitting so much as I would do reading a physical book, though I still read those, too. I think part of the reason I enjoy both is that I have someone "talking" to me, even if I don't talk back.
I listen to true-crime podcasts when driving long distances.
Agree that driving and listening are the perfect combo. Until you need to concentrate on driving.
But I wouldn't want to take a walk, because I like having all my senses available when I'm outside---with no car to protect me, lol.
The difference between radio and podcasts to me, is that a podcast is something I really want to concentrate on----info I'm interested in. Whereas radio is mostly background and needs no concentration.
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SO I only listen to podcasts/audiobooks if i'm doing something else.
