Podcasts and I Became Best Friends During the Lockdown

I still remember my effort to describe to friends of mine the concept of podcasts, long before the Covid-19 pandemic eruption and the changes that came with it in all aspects of online media. For the past five years, I have been following the “Joe Rogan Experience”, which is an extremely successful podcast, hosted by Joe Rogan, commentator for the UFC and stand-up comedian.

Soon after the outburst of Covid-19, on May 19th, Rogan announced that he had signed a multi-year deal with Spotify, worth 200$ million.

(A microphone and a pair of headsets are all you need for a podcast)

So what is actually a podcast?

In simple words, a podcast is an audio program, the same as a radio show, but here you have the ability to subscribe and listen to it whenever you want to. You can even subscribe through smartphone apps like Spotify or Apple Podcasts and listen to them later when you go out for a walk. At least this is how I do it.

Podcasting was definitely in an upturn before the pandemic, as 55% of the American population had listened to a podcast. Since the lockdowns started, there was an increase of 18% in U.S. adults who had started to listen to podcasts.

Based on data, in April 2020, a month after the lockdowns, podcast listens had increased by 42% globally.

So, why have people suddenly started to listen to podcasts? Why now?

Well, I think most of you have a slight clue on the answer.

I want you all to go back to that moment when suddenly every one of us was locked inside our apartments in the big city. There was no option for a branch or a drink with friends.

Some of us were living on our own, with no roommate or mate.

When people are forced into isolation, the media is the place to go and spend their time. We witnessed during the pandemic an unprecedented growth in social media consumption. The same goes for podcasts.

Many people had no one around to see and interact with, causing feelings of isolation and loss of companionship. Podcasts filled in the gap for many of them. For many users, podcasters became their friends. A podcast can last for hours, meaning that masses of information about the podcaster can be communicated and as a result establish in-jokes with the audience, thus creating a sense of intimacy between them.

If you haven’t experienced a podcast, I urge you to go and check for yourself.

Who knows, you might become one of us.