The wellbeing effects of listening to digital entertainment: highlights from a participant questionnaire
Between June and September 2024, members of the public were invited to take part in a questionnaire, as part of the DiEM project, exploring digital audio entertainment e.g. music streaming, podcasts, audio books, digital radio etc.
The purpose of the questionnaire was to establish some initial understandings about how people engage with digital audio entertainment in their everyday lives and how this might affect personal wellbeing.
What follows is a summary of the questionnaire results as promised to participants.
What is digital audio entertainment?
Digital audio entertainment is highly personal depending on what everyone themselves finds entertaining. The following entertainment types were included by participants: music streaming, digital radio, podcasts, audio books, meditation apps, gaming soundtracks, ASMR sounds and current affairs or news talk shows.
What other activities do people do while listening to digital audio entertainment?
It is common for people to participate in routine tasks while listening to digital audio entertainment, such as commuting, travelling and cooking. Some people also listen to digital audio entertainment to help them exercise, complete chores or fall asleep. By elevating or enhancing these everyday experiences, digital audio entertainment can support personal wellbeing.
Does digital audio entertainment improve wellbeing?
Participants identified lots of benefits associated with listening to digital audio entertainment that help to improve their wellbeing. People gave examples of using digital audio entertainment to manage emotions, particularly stress and anxiety. Others described how digital audio entertainment allows them to connect with family and friends, reflect on the world, or gain new knowledge. Some highlighted that digital audio entertainment provides enjoyment or relaxation.
Participants also felt that digital audio entertainment can have a few disadvantages that may undermine personal wellbeing. For example, having so much content to listen to or choose from can feel exhausting and addictive, or lead to a loss of creative thinking. Some people were also concerned about the spread of misinformation.
Overall, what does the questionnaire tell us?
In summary, the questionnaire provided many rich and interesting details about the varied roles digital audio entertainment can play in everyday life, and how this listening can affect personal wellbeing. Reflections from participants showed that digital audio entertainment can provide both pleasure and purpose but may also present some challenges. These are only initial reflections, and this is a complex picture which requires further in-depth research.
Information about the questionnaire and participants
In total, 35 people completed the questionnaire. Participants were located in 9 countries: Denmark, Norway, Finland, England, Spain, Greenland, Poland, Australia and Canada. Nearly half of the participants (45%) were aged 55 or older.
Questionnaire respondents were recruited through professional, personal and community networks. For some questions, participants could write their own responses. For others, they had to select one or more answers from a given list. Effort was made to recruit older adults to take part as they are frequently under-represented in research about digital media. The questionnaire was completed online, and participants gave their consent to take part electronically.
These insights will continue to shape future research in the DiEM project. Detailed findings from the questionnaire and other research will be reported in an academic paper and submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.