Intimacy in Isolation: Podcasting, Affect, and the Pandemic

Understanding why educational professionals engage with podcasts: Educational Podcasts Motivational Scale development and validation

“…These factors as primary motives to listen to educational podcasts and share with colleagues are unsurprising, given the inherent prominence of learning within educational podcasts and research demonstrating social connections as a persistent motive for podcast listeners (Chung & Kim, 2016; Craig et al., 2023; McClung & Johnson, 2010; Perks et al., 2019; Perks & Turner, 2019). The social motivators behind podcast listening have long been debated, as podcast listening often occurs in isolation (McNamara & Haegele, 2021; Perks & Turner, 2019; Robson, 2021). Scholars have offered that the social motivational factors within podcast listening may provide a balance between the isolation listening behaviours, as they use these podcasts to initiate conversations and can recommend appealing content to friends and colleagues (Perks et al., 2019).…”

“…Scholars have offered that the social motivational factors within podcast listening may provide a balance between the isolation listening behaviours, as they use these podcasts to initiate conversations and can recommend appealing content to friends and colleagues (Perks et al., 2019). Robson (2021) interviewed podcast listeners during the beginning of the COVID‐19 pandemic, with findings highlighting the important role podcasts can play in “displacing bodies, as well as inspiring unification” (p. 391), as participants were found to build strong connection with the hosts and gained feelings of sociality within physically distanced landscapes. Although these findings, along with the findings from the present study, support that Information Gathering and Social Interactions are the primary motivating factors for listening to podcasts (and educational podcasts), research is needed to understand the additional factors at play (eg, age, gender) that determine the extent to which these factors contribute to their podcast listening behaviours.…”

“…These low rankings, as well as negative associations with intention and word‐of‐mouth items, may be due to several intersecting elements. For example, one of the appealing aspects of podcasts compared to other forms of media (eg, radio) is having an unprecedented amount of control and autonomy over one's listening experience (Robson, 2021). Because podcast listening is often an isolated activity and users are in complete control of their listening habits, external expectations from others may not be a primary motivator and may even discourage sharing and listening to educational podcasts.…”