Why So Surprised that a Grandma is Listening to Your Podcast?

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Triforce, a while ago when I heard them discussing their extreme surprise that someone's grandmother was listening to their podcast.  While it's true that the talent are all in their mid to late 30s and the content can be over the top at times, I was dismayed that they had such an antiquated view of grandmothers.  They implied that grandparents are doddering, old women.  This certainly hit a nerve with me!

I am a 66 year old grandmother, but I am very active.  Our kids say that their parents have a much more active social life than they do because we are always going somewhere, doing things with friends of all ages, and interested in a variety of things.  I do remember when I was young and thought that people in their 60s were really old.  We definitely are older, but I think that aging has changed in our current society.  More of us are active, vital, contributing adults later in life!  Using technology is certainly one of the things that has changed our lives for the better, and many of us embrace its use and what it offers us.

As I started musing about Podcasts and demographics, I had to do a little research to see what the stats were about Podcasts.  According to Podcastinsights.com, there are over 750,000 podcasts!  That's a lot of content being created.  Edison Research tells us that "51% of Americans 12+ have ever listened to a podcast, with 32% having listened in the past month, and 22% in the past week...Although all key demographics grew, much of the increase in podcasting has come from Americans age 12-24."  

Credit: Infinite Dial 2018

As the graph shows, listening to podcasts occurs during many parts of the day.  Most listen at home like I do, but a large percentage listen in their cars or at work.  My husband listens while exercising.  Podcasts can fit into lives in many different ways so people of all ages should be able to find a way to enjoy them.

Podcast listeners subscribe to an average of 6 shows and 19% of us speed them up (Podcastinsights.com).  I subscribe to 27 different podcasts.  I listen to all of them with Smart Speed which shortens silences.  Some of them I listen to at 1 1/2 speed.  My son listens to a lot of podcasts at double speed but I haven't been able to get used to that!

I think that podcast creators need to recognize that seniors are an untapped demographic.  I am hoping that more and more will discover how much fun listening to podcasts can be.  I think they're definitely missing out by not exploring this form of media and content.  So, Content Creators, grandmas like me won't be pidgeonholed into antiquated stereotypes of gray haired grannies knitting in our rocking chairs.  We're out here ready to learn new things, stay current, and be entertained!

Have you found your tech joy today?

#Blaugust2019

Do You Twitch?

This weekend was the first YogCon (Yogscast Convention) in Bristol, UK which I was very excited to see.  I'm a big fan of Yogscast, follow several of their streamers, listen to Triforce-a podcast of 3 of their streamers, and always watch Jingle Jam, their December charity event: so I made sure to go on Twitch to watch today's content.  It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed it a lot.  I also was watching the crowd and their reactions and started wondering if many people my age watched Twitch programming.

I have watched Twitch for a long time.  In addition to watching Yogscast, I also watch GTA Role Playing on Twitch a lot.  My son is the one who has hooked me on these forms of programming.  I know that I enjoy it because of the personalities of the people online.  I think others would enjoy it if they knew about it and understood it.  This line of thought started me thinking about Twitch demographics so I had to look into it.  I suspected that Twitch demographics run on the young age group side.

According to Much Needed.com, Twitch is the "31st most popular website online".  It also says that 55% of Twitch users are between 18 and 34 years old.  The remainder are 13 (the youngest age you can have a Twitch account) to 17 and above 34-pointing out that gamers are aging and make up part of the remaining statistical group.  While it doesn't say what the remaining breakdown is, I'm guessing that those of us 55 and over make up a very small percentage of viewers since we didn't grow up playing video games.

I doubt that there are very many of us in the 55 and older age bracket who have even heard about Twitch.  That's really sad, because I find a lot of enjoyment out of watching streamers on Twitch.  That's probably a surprise to younger readers who don't expect this viewpoint.  However, there are a lot of us who like streaming and the technology that supports it.  If you're in this older age group, I would highly recommend that you try it out.  You may be pleasantly surprised!

Have you found your tech joy today?

#Blaugust2019