Podcasts and Productivity: A Qualitative Uses and Gratifications Study

Abstract

Through analysis of five focus groups with people who “usually (more often than not) listened to at least one podcast episode a week” in the last two months, this uses and gratifications (U&G) study uncovers several prominent themes among podcast listener experiences. In an effort to integrate old and new media use typologies within U&G research, our results are presented in two parts: emerging typologies and expansions of existing typologies. The emerging section includes reasons for podcast displacement of other media, customizable experiences, and multitasking (which involves both temptation bundling and feeding the brain). The expansion builds on the existing typologies of companionship and interaction by analyzing avenues for parasocial relationship formation and identifying social opportunities as well as social frustrations surrounding podcasts. We ultimately conclude that podcasts offer an endless supply of engaging content that travels with listeners, allowing them to be “productive” in various physical and mind-expanding ways. The enjoyment is facilitated in part by forging connections with hosts and other listeners.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Sarah Seero and Kenney Tran for their contributions to this research.

Notes

¹ Moderators were acquainted with some of the participants, but no one moderated a focus group consisting of family members or colleagues.

² The full schedule of focus group questions is available from the first author.

³ Our demographic form did not ask about occupations, but several participants mentioned their work through the course of their focus group. Our participants came from the fields of education, entertainment, law, and construction, among others.

⁴ The participant who reported listening for 4,000 minutes was asked if that total was accurate and responded “seriously.” Although this is a notable outlier, ideas expressed by this person that are included in this article always had support from two or three other focus group participants (not necessarily in the same group), so we consider the data from that person to be instructive.

⁵ The numbers add up to more than 23 because some participants listed multiple ways they listened.

⁶ Listening to audio media while traveling was also the most common form of multitasking in Jeong and Fishbein’s (2007) study of adolescent multitasking.

⁷ Bluetooth connectivity between vehicles and mobile phones has undoubtedly made it easier to listen and self-program while commuting.

⁸ The initial temptation bundling study was conducted using “tempting audiobooks” to motivate participants’ gym use. It should be noted that when asked to compare media, many participants considered audiobooks to be the most similar to podcasts.

⁹ Lull (1980) labeled these “relational” gratifications.

¹⁰ For example, Rubin (1981) used a hybrid qualitative and quantitative method to assess scale construct validity and confirm the reliability of quantitative self-reports.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lisa Glebatis Perks

Lisa Glebatis Perks (Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 2008) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Media at Merrimack College. Her research interests include analyzing audience reception processes and new media engagement patterns.

Jacob S. Turner

Jacob S. Turner (Ph.D., Bowling Green State University, 2009) is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication and Media at Merrimack College. His research interests include examining media content to better understand how cultural information is communicated through media technologies.