I grew up in a home where the TV was always on, and as an adult, I did not want my home to be the same way. But instead, I’ve slipped into the habit of using earbuds in a way that’s arguably worse. It’s time for a change.
Podcasts, Whenever It’s Quiet
Smartphones have made it so easy to listen to something wherever we are. And no, they weren’t the first technology to do this. They have replaced the MP3 players my generation used to shut out the world as we rode the bus to school. MP3 players unseated the CD players and cassette players that came before them.
Unless you were carrying around a portable radio, there was a limit to what you could listen to. We could only afford so many albums or carry around so many cassettes.
On my phone, I’ve grown quite addicted to podcasts. Whenever I’m not actively thinking about something or engaged in conversation, I feel the pull to start up a podcast and see if I can work through my queue. I can’t, by the way. It’s the nature of podcasts that when all the episodes are done, another is on its way. When one feed is empty, there is another one just as compelling. The supply is endless, and my phone can stream them all.
As a result, podcasts have become a mental screensaver. They occupy my brain when I’m not actively using it to do other things. They’re the first thing I think to seek out even when reviewing a minimalist phone.
Audiobooks Aren’t Much Better
Sometimes when I feel too worked up by the podcasts I’ve curated, I decide to try audiobooks instead. They’re not the solution I expect them to be.
They’re different, for sure. Audiobooks are much longer. One book is the equivalent of an entire podcast feed in and of itself. I get to spend hours invested in a single voice and a single story.
Yet I’m ultimately still going about my day with someone constantly speaking through my ear. Often, I find the compulsion gets worse. When I really get immersed in a book, it can be difficult to put down. I can go half of a day listening every moment that I can in order to hear what happens next.
It’s Time to Dial Back the Hyperstimulation
With all of this listening, my thoughts are replaced with someone else’s. I don’t get to experience the deep quiet necessary to get in touch with what I’m feeling and my own thoughts. Rather than feel what arises within me and see what I might be moved to create based on my own personal experience of the world, I’m continually subjecting myself to someone else’s programming.
It’s almost funny how different the word “programming” feels today. To be programmed by others sounds nefarious, as though we’re allowing ourselves to run someone else’s code. Yet old media used to be more explicit about this. We picked up TV guides that showed us TV programming for the upcoming week.
The result is the same. Mass media tells us what to think, or think about, and doesn’t encourage us to step away long enough to actually do the thinking. We live in a hyperstimulated world.
Relearning to Hear Myself Think
While it’s valuable to learn new information, most of us are suffering from too much information, not too little—and much of that information isn’t of high quality. I’ve been gorging myself on junk food and wondering why I feel so sick. As much as I enjoy podcasts, and as practical as it feels to listen to them while I do other tasks, I feel worse on days when I find I’ve listened to multiple hours of podcasts (which is easy to do when most of my favorites are over an hour long).
For now, I’ve deleted the podcasts app from my phone. This decision doesn’t come easy. There are podcasts having conversations that genuinely move me, shifting my views of the world. Yet even with these, there’s no guarantee each episode will have this effect, and it takes hours to find out. Many of them provide transcripts anyway.
Instead, if I feel I need to play something, I’ve stated listening to more instrument music. I love neo-classical music, and I also have a weakness for Lo-Fi Girl. This may also be a drug, but it feels like a healthier one.
Related
My Childhood May Have Set Me Up for a Lo-Fi Playlist Addiction
There’s nothing like chill background music to help a gamer focus.
I find this music shifts how I feel without blocking out my ability to think, reflect, or simply be aware. It’s also much less jarring when I decide not to put in anything and listen to the ambient sounds of my home and the myriad sounds of the broader world outside. Since I prefer to buy MP3s, there’s also a point where the music ends.
I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of all the noise. I’ve been tired for years, yet I’ve still listened to podcasts like I can’t get enough. The truth is, I can. It’s time to hear myself think. And if it’s quiet enough, maybe I’ll even notice what’s there when the incessant thinking stops.
