Happy Nice Mall

According to the shareholder letter, Spotify’s total monthly active users increased by 19% compared to the third quarter of last year, reaching a total of 381 million consumers in 86 global markets. The podcast-driven increase was accompanied by a 75% increase in ad-supported revenue and a 27% increase in overall revenue.

In addition, Buzzsprout, the world’s second-largest podcast host, has “nearly tripled” its business in 2020 “from people who just decide to launch podcasts,” Alban Brooke, the platform’s head of marketing, told The Times.

“We have seen an incredible amount of growth as soon as the quarantines come from COVID,” Mr. Brooke said.

Dusty Jenkins, Spotify’s head of global communications, told The Times that the National Research Group study confirms “strong performance in podcasting and advertising revenue” that pushed the Sweden-based provider to the top spot for US earnings last year.

The study notes that there has been a particularly dramatic increase in digital podcast consumption among Gen Z and millennials over the past year and a half as the popularity of social media options like the Clubhouse App and Twitter Spaces exploded.

After spending six to eight hours of video conferencing a day at work, school, or work, teens seek out podcasts as a distraction while doing gardening and chores around the home where video platforms fall short.

One in 3 millennials said that sound is indispensable as an entertainment medium, half of millennials said they would use more sound in the future, and 3 out of 5 millennials said they turned to sound to learn something new.

The study added that Gen Z and Y are switching to audio podcasts at higher rates than other generations, providing the largest and most loyal audience demographic.

But Justin Jackson, co-founder of podcast platform Transistor.fm, took issue with the study: “I don’t believe reports like this should collect statistics on streaming music and podcasting together like this.”

Citing recent media data from Edison Research, Mr. Jackson said only 28% of Americans over the age of 11 listen to podcasts on a weekly basis.

“[P]odcasting has been growing ‘slow and steady’ for ten years; “It doesn’t have the meteoric growth rates that streaming music has,” he said.

Mr. Jackson also disagreed with the research’s finding that listeners tend to use only one app to meet their needs, citing Edison Research data showing that “24% of weekly podcast consumers use Spotify and 21% use Apple Podcasts.”

“Our own internal research has shown that only 50% of Gen Z respondents (who are also podcast listeners) use Spotify to listen to podcasts,” he said.

‘Read a book, take a walk’

Concerns about spending too much time in front of screens go beyond adults surveyed in a National Research Group study: Adolescents now spend about eight hours a day watching a screen each day, more than double the estimated time they spent in front of a screen before the pandemic, according to a study of 5,412 people. adolescents, published Monday in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Media psychologist Jerri Lynn Hogg, a senior research fellow at the Center for Media Psychology Research, said turning to podcasts could help “reframe” Americans’ approach to “screen burnout and Zoom fatigue.”

“The bigger questions we have to ask are why and how screens are used. If the user is exhausted, out of control or starting to ignore commitments, that’s a good sign that it’s a good time to take a break, Hogg told The Times.

Ms. Hogg, former president of the American Psychological Association’s Association for Media Psychology and Technology, publishes a podcast titled “The Art of Digital Living” as a healthy alternative to video screens.

It recommends replacing harmful blue light exposure of smart devices, computers and digital television screens with “activity of similar purpose.”

“Call, read a book, go for a walk or meet a friend face to face,” said Ms. Hogg. “Sound tends to be more immersive because you can focus on the sound and activate your self-image.”

Weiwei Chen, a professor of health economics at Kennesaw State University, said in an assessment of young children’s screen time, he found that television viewing was predominant in low-income families.

From 1997 to 2014, screen time for children under the age of 2 doubled, reports JAMA Pediatrics in a co-authored research letter published in February 2019.

Podcasts “could have a positive health impact on consumers compared to screen time,” Ms. Chen told The Times.

He added that there may also be mental health benefits in terms of “brain and physiological responses,” as research has shown that “listening to a story is more cognitively and emotionally engaging than watching a video.”

“People get bored with Zoom meetings all day. Podcasting is a good alternative to screen media and can be consumed much more flexibly,” said Ms. Chen. “Podcasts can reduce eye strain and fatigue because people don’t have to look at the screen while listening.”

He cautioned, however, that the study’s focus on 18-54-year-olds means that children and older adults may still prefer videos to podcasts.

Meanwhile, some governments and parent groups have long advocated limiting screen time among children. China recently tightened government restrictions limiting children to just three hours of online play each week. The Associated Press reported on September 20 that most Chinese children are only allowed to play online video games between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the week.

Actress Sam Sorbo, who hosts the podcast “The Sam Sorbo Show,” said she applauds such limitations.

“There’s something very isolating about kids sitting in front of a screen all day for school and then doing it again in their spare time. They seek intellectual stimulation, but they don’t always need to be in front of a screen,” said homeschooling advocate Ms Sorbo.

Kimberly Fletcher, founder of America’s parenting rights group for moms, said she encourages moms to pick up their kids’ phones at 8 p.m. so they don’t have a blue light on their face when they fall asleep.

“Put the phone down, get a book and read the stories of America’s history,” said Ms. Fletcher. “Moms we’ve heard say screen time overstimulates kids with constant flashes of light.”

She added that some mothers are starting to prefer podcasts over screens.

“Many moms like to listen to something while doing the dishes, on the treadmill, or while taking the kids somewhere in the car,” Ms. Fletcher said.

Despite the once-popular “video killed radio” wisdom, the podcasting trend shows that digital audio could replace screens in some demographics.

National Research Group research found that 77% of total US consumers, including 90% of social media users, believe that “social audio experiences are permanent and will continue to grow in the future.”