Audio Content: A Guilty Pleasure or Good for You?

In this day and age, quality content is abundant. As audio content becomes more available, it makes one wonder: is it cheating to listen to something instead of read it?

• Listening is convenient. One can engage with a story or an article while commuting, exercising, or performing tasks around the house. It also makes content accessible to people with dyslexia, processing difficulty, etc.
• Psychologists have found that in terms of technical data retention, a physical paper book is ideal. However, listening does not negatively impact reading comprehension.
• Listening isn’t cheating, nor does anyone need to feel guilty about preferring it. As psychologist Daniel T. Willingham says, “audiobooks add literacy to moments where there would otherwise be none.”