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By Mariel Dozier
Living in a digital world means there is a constant abundance of information available to be consumed. Different outlets are constantly fighting for consumers’ attention. Whether it be the never-ending feed of Instagram to scroll or “click-bait” youtube captions that grab your attention, there is always more than enough content to be consumed. Without actively thinking about it, we, the consumers, quickly can become the content we consume. I try to consume content consciously by listening to podcasts while doing mindless activities to keep me informed about what’s going on in the world. Whether it is current events, entrepreneurship, true crime, or conspiracy theories, podcasts are great ways to consciously consume content and learn more about things that interest you. Some of my favorites include “How I built this,” “The Daily,” and “This Is Actually Happening.”
This podcast hosted by Guy Raz and produced by NPR, focuses on entrepreneurs who have built some of the most successful companies in all different industries. Focusing on stories like Whitney Wolfe Herd of Bumble and how she took unfortunate events working at Tinder and turned them into a competitive and more progressive dating app. To stories from Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia, an entrepreneur who stayed true to himself while building his company and put the environment first over pure profitability. Even if you don’t want to be an entrepreneur, hearing stories of resilience and people whose gambles paid off is an inspiring and great use of an hour in content consumed.
As the name suggests, “The Daily” has a new episode every day. It is produced by the New York Times and hosted by Michael Barbaro and tells the story of a current event, usually in thirty minutes or less. During a commute, short walk, or while making dinner is thirty minutes available to listen to current events and stay up to date. Whether it is focusing on Facebook’s ban of Ex-President Donald Trump or what is currently happening in Gaza, the daily will inform you and keep you interested.
Produced by the Podcast company Wondery, This show gives insights into individual’s lives and events they have been through. With show titles such as “What if you spent four years inside” or “What if you kept shaking hands with death,” you will find a show that intrigued you and brought inside the world of the individuals who experienced it.
By consciously thinking about the content you consume, it is possible to become more informed than mindlessly scrolling Instagram. With the abundance of content produced, there is a space for everyone’s interests.
I think this is so important. Being a conscious consumer of all sorts is something I am truly trying to work on. I think social media can just be a constant mindless empty scroll that ends up harming up more than helping us. The tools and resources you gave are super helpful.
Like the previous commenter, I’ve too been trying to be a more conscious and responsible consumer of media and news. Getting the majority of my news from social media has been draining and I’ve been trying to dedicate a certain amount of time per day to instead visit various news websites or utilize the news app on my phone. Thank you for these recommendations — I’ll definitely try out The Daily going forward. I have a short attention span, so 30 mins or less is perfect. For those like me, NPR has a 15 min daily news podcast called Up First that I recommend. Thank you for this post!
Mariel,
I love that your post brings attention to the fact that when we use social media we are so often mindlessly scrolling through content that does nothing to educate us or better our physical/mental health. Podcasts are a great way to be educated on current events, learn about history, or hear about a crazy crime case!
Hi Mariel,
This post was a great reminder that we need to be more aware of the content that we are taking in. Being informed about current events is a great way to educate ourselves, and be mindful of what’s happening. I personally love “How I Built This” and agree that it is super inspiring!
Hello Mariel, great post. I also do this, however, I try to seek out videos, as I have found that podcasts can often get lost on side conversations, where there is more pressure to stay on topic in a video. One channel that I recently found, and love is JCS – Criminal Psychology. Here is a link if you want to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYwVxWpjeKFWwu8TML-Te9A