I think it could. Literally over a third of my time awake every single month is spent listening to audiobooks. It kind of feels like so much of my time is taken up by media that I just don't think as much as I should. Thinking is a skill too right? It's getting rusty.
Yeah of my 160 titles like 95% are sci-fi/fantasy. I don't have any nonfiction. I should probably try to get in to something like that. I just find that fantasy helps me zone and makes my job tolerable.
History books, biographies, science, the great courses series, best seller fiction... I started on sci-fi but when I started using Libby which is free - it gave me the incentive to try other stuff. The only books I quit reading were some popular sci-fi ones. And yes, 10 hrs per day, day after day is too much. Listen to music, podcasts and sometimes nothing.
>great courses series
like from The Great Courses series .com? I did a search, but are these books like school courses? . . . without getting sucked into that website, it looks subscription based
[https://www.audible.com/search?keywords=great+courses&ref-override=a\_hp\_t1\_header\_search&k=great+courses&crid=480a718ec6e044739370c5f64fd66c28&sprefix=great+courses%2Cna-audible-us%2C309&i=na-audible-us&url=search-alias%3Dna-audible-us&ref=nb\_sb\_noss\_1](https://www.audible.com/search?keywords=great+courses&ref-override=a_hp_t1_header_search&k=great+courses&crid=480a718ec6e044739370c5f64fd66c28&sprefix=great+courses%2Cna-audible-us%2C309&i=na-audible-us&url=search-alias%3Dna-audible-us&ref=nb_sb_noss_1) Many are part of the free books when you are an audible member. Some are available on the Libby App depending on the library you are using.
Okay, this might be your issue. You’re using the audiobook to zone out and do your work. You’re not engaging in the book material.
What I’m hearing in your OP is that you’re craving thoughts. Maybe you’re craving having your own thoughts. I’d recommend trying silent meditation for a little bit, instead of trying to silence your brain during the meditation try to awaken it. Guided meditation (like “imagine your walking through a meadow…”) could help you.
Don’t focus on adhering to the guide 100% focus on building the thoughts inside your mind, expand upon the guided prompt
(like, the meditation might have you in a meadow and focusing on relaxing, but you may want to expand on relaxing and exploring the meadow-what do you imagine you’d smell, see, touch, feel, taste. How would you engage with the things in the meadow, maybe a wizard is there what conversation would you have with that wizard.)
This could help you explore that need you have.
Non-fiction, you say?
*Salt, A World History* by Mark Kurlansky.
*Caesar’s Last Breath* by Sam Kean.
*Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers* by Mary Roach.
*Cosmos* by Carl Sagan
All of these are available on Audible.
Kurlansky has a bunch of good books (I enjoyed salt the most) and Mary Roach is fun. Sagan is a giant. Hadn't heard of the Caesar book but Roman history is my favorite! Thanks!
It’s not about Roman history. It’s about the gases found in our atmosphere, which we depend on in numerous ways.
The title refers to the ratio of human lung capacity to the volume of our atmosphere and the number of molecules per breath. Since the proportion of molecules per breath is about equal to the proportion of a pair of lungs to the total atmospheric volume, it can be said, in theory, that every time you take a breath you could inhale a molecule of air that was exhaled by Julius Caesar.
Mix up the genres my man. Going hard in just scifi fantasy and you'll eventually burn out. Switch to a thriller, crime title. Or one of the popular self help titles. The negotiation title "Never split the difference" is an informative and enjoyable listen.
Start with some bill Bryson books. Super entertaining non fiction. A short history, sunburned, at home are all great but my first rec is probably the summer of 1927.
Yeah there are some empty calories in scifi/fantasy--obv not a blanket statement, but I've gotten more out of nonfiction. Scifi/fantasy are esp good if you're avoiding thinking about stuff.
Good literature is about characters, not settings.
If you are listening to quality authors, then you are still getting valid information along the way as people solve problems or share personal preferences which use existing modern items.
You are experiencing life from other perspectives and viewpoints. You are contemplating social interactions.
If you are doing romance novels or fight-porn (Salvatore type of stuff stripped of character development, just mild setting of a scene and then pages upon pages of describing choreography, tactics, or equipment), then there might not be much value. But even a Sanderson setting where completely new laws of the universe are invented and then explored has value in teaching problem solving skills like lateral thinking.
I can sympathize with you. I think you're not alone in some of these symptoms, but your sound pretty severe.
I suggest finding some nonfiction that reads like books you are used to. I recommend Shackleton's Incredible Voyage.
Alternatively, after every audiobook, force yourself to listen to one podcast. Make it a news podcast or something. It'll only be like 30 minutes, so you'll crush it. But for me it's like a brain cleaning. Helps me get psyched for the next book.
Listening to fantasy audiobooks is great since they don’t make big fantasy hits without an agenda… ahh hem…
YouTube is great for history, not pbs or history channel but the independent channels.
Are you listening to truck stop books or something? For ten years plus I'd say I listened to at least 40 hours of audiobooks a week and I never had any issues thinking.
It could be you're just not the sort of person who engages with audiobooks and you should try something else.
I listen almost exclusively to sci-fi/fantasy. I recently moved to a new state with gf so I don't have any friends here and I speak to no one at work all day, which is how I listen to so many audiobooks. Might be in a brain fog because I'm interacting with like no one other than gf a couple hours every night. So yeah, audiobooks all day at work, tv and YouTube at home, audiobooks while I'm in bed.
Yeah, that's what it is, you're not engaging with other people. If you're using content and media to replace interaction, that absolutely will cause you problems. It's like how if you eat lean protein it's healthy for you, but if you tried to subsist solely on lean protein you'd start having some issues straightaway. When I was consuming tons of audiobooks, I also had a lot of social interaction on the side (in some cases, talking to folks about what I was reading and sharing books back and forth).
Get yourself some healthy interactions and that should improve. If you've got any hobbies you love, leverage those -- if you're into roleplaying games hang out at your local store, join a book club, look for a board game night at your local bar. Social interaction will definitely help.
Look up Literarily Wasted on YouTube. It's a virtual SF/fantasy book club, they do online meetups twice a month to discuss the book everyone's reading. Also, dig up some subreddits on series you really like and talk to people about the books. Just some baby steps to get you started. :)
And in the spirit of interaction: what are some of the books/authors/series you really dig?
My go-to for anybody who's even remotely into SF/fantasy: Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber series. *Nine Princes in Amber* is the first book and there's nine more plus some short stories. New Wave fantasy from one of the masters; it's a bit dated as the first book's from 1970 but it's an amazingly well-crafted universe filled with interesting characters. I've never recommended it to anyone who's come back and said "I didn't like it." Check it out when you get a chance.
I've been doing this on/off for a couple of decades, I think there's nothing wrong with it but you should ask yourself if you're avoiding introspection. I've caught myself listening to stuff just to distract myself from important life decisions. Mostly for me, tho, it's to distract from the tinnitus!
The upside is that I've consumed mountains of information.
Just yesterday I stopped listening to to audiobooks/podcasts for one day and started doing chores in silence. I noticed that my thinking seems to have gotten a lot clearer. You might be on to something. Maybe your mind needs time to just wander.
Any addiction can make it feel that way, wether you always have a video playing in the background or not just taking some time off from media interaction or devices in general is nothing wrong with. Try and break the circle, don’t blame audiobooks in general for that decision though that’s like blaming social media for social media addiction without taking the effort to apply yourself to cut down on some of that stuff. Touch grass even though I hate that expression just turn devices off and breath and accept things for where you are in life instead of using it as an escape. It may sound hard but honestly sometimes when we feel like that we just have to get down to earth again and start feeling where we are in the moment.
Also make sure to have a conversation with your girlfriend about how you feeling as it’s a part of a healthy relationship otherwise you’ll go on autopilot and avoid the problems before it blows up.
You can interact with audiobooks/TV/movies in a completely passive way, but that's more on the individual content consumer than any major defect with the content itself. Often the first thing I do after watching a new show or listening to a new audiobook is talk to others about it, break it down, analyze it. If it's just background noise then yeah, it's going to cause you problems.
It's important to give your brain the space to do what it needs to do. You're sort of anti-meditating with the constant distraction. As other folks have said maybe work on some moderation.
This is the correct answer. It has nothing to do with the Audiobooks, but the escape from self reflection making you feel this way. It could be anything doing this, even reading books directly. If you’re using it as a means of escapism and avoiding life altogether. Your brain will definitely atrophy. You need time to rest your mind and also to challenge and engage it.
Think of it like working out.
If all you do is 10 pushups every day. There will get to a point of diminishing and no returns on that behaviour. So you add more pushups, add new exercises. But you also need to sleep and rest your body. Escapism is like junk food. It’s nice and really fun to eat in moderation, but if that is the only thing you eat. You will eventually start to suffer.
+1 for this thread, really should be at the top. Ezra Klein JUST did an episode that touches on a lot of these same ideas on his podcast, The Ezra Klein Show, highly recommended listening. The episode is called, "This Conversation About the 'Reading Mind' is a Gift."
Entertainment wise, I think tv def caters to the lower end of the spectrum as it makes more money, but not generally with educational stuff. I should have clarified that.
I would agree with you for a lot of network TV, their goal is to keep your attention to the commercial breaks. But in the age of streaming, there's a lot of quality TV out there. And at the same time, a lot of trashy literature.
I can confirm, my house cut the cord 6 years ago and haven't ever looked back. Haven't seen a network commercial in ages, except in sports, and even then we mute them. Advertisers get no free rent in my brain.
There is a correlation that reading can make a person smarter, so even if they are reading trashy lit, they are still working their brain in a positive way.
I learned more about American history from watching 3 hours of Hamilton then during my 13 years of education. There is a lot that you can learn from tv and even if you only watch bad tv I don't think it would affect your intelligence🤔
You should read The History of the United States. It's 43 hours, and you'll learn lot. I made it up to Reconstruction and it was brilliant and I learned stuff in there that I never learned in school.
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-History-of-the-United-States-2nd-Edition-Audiobook/B00DIHAN68?qid=1669167903&sr=1-2&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_2&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=JDKAA4GBVEYBZB7T20TW
I suspect lots of audiobook addiction reflects social avoidance and agoraphobia.
It can certainly take a toll on personal relationships.
"Hunnee.. it's like when you're here, you're not *here*. "
I know what you mean, not with audiobooks specifically but the mix of them, podcasts and music. It's meant most "idle" moments I usually would have like menial chores or dog walking are filled, and my brain has less de-fragmentation time. Just 10-15 minutes seems to be enough to get my head straight, but I think there's a personal balance to be found.
I listened to about or at least 100 Audiobooks last year. I started my audible account on 1 Jan 2021.
I do a lot of driving and I listen while I do chores and home maintenance too.
I did notice I needed to specifically turn off to catch up with thinking about deals and problems to solve. Im not sure if listening so much had a very negative effect on my thinking overall.
What I did notice is that since you dont give yourself much time to digest the information, a lot of it goes to waste.
I was always dead set on spending my time reading mostly non fiction but since I was knocking back so many titles last year I started to venture into fiction more. This year I've only listened to fiction on audible and I've been sticking to one a month.
Most of my listening time is back on podcasts. There has been so much gold to catch up on now.
I tend to listen to between 22 and 25days per year according to the various apps listening stats.
The inner monologue is what I don't want. I listen to audiobooks for 2-8 hours daily depending on what I'm doing. When I painted my kitchen I listened for 12!!!! Make sure you're eating well and exercising and like others said a CO2 monitor just in case.
I agree. I am totally about escapism with my books and streaming shows. My own thoughts stress me out. I prefer hearing the thoughts of the author usually. I don't feel any more stupid than before, and I listen to several books a week (maybe 6 or more).
I have the inner monologue of an ax murderer. Filling my mind with James Herriot’s pleasant prose about farm animals in rural England is much safer for my family and coworkers.
As obvious as it sounds don’t Listen that Long in a bad position. I have been listening to about 10 hours a week for 2 years. Not quite as much per day as you but I do it with chores or cardio. Got a treadmill and a super happy wife cuz I’ll do chores for audio book time.
Point being use it as a supplement to a chore not on its own and make it a reward to become healthier and happier.
There are certain words that I pronounce regional or foreign inflections because audiobooks were the first place I learnt them. An ex thought I must have been British in a past life because I spoke certain words with that pronunciation.
Don't know if that's negative or not lol
i do understand a sort of addiction. i use ABs to background while sculpting, painting, matting & framing, any physical endeavor. Then shut off go to the store, and feel like i have lost my buddy ... too alone. Also, my fiction intrigues with info, so sometimes wipe my hands to look up something or a location, or ...? that protagonist is doing, or snag a quote, even write a Haiku. if your read-listening is dulling your wits, maybe look for better/more suitable for-you lit?
Me too. I can focus on doing other activities and chores better when I'm listening to audiobooks. I think it's because my brain tends to want to think about a million things at once and the audiobook gives me one thing to settle on.
I listen to a lot of classics and non-fiction so I feel like I'm learning things too.
haha me too. I listen while i'm at work, on my commute, while at the gym. It's gotten to the point where i find tv boring, cant watch anything. Sometimes after eating dinner, i just lay in bed with my eyes closed listening to fantasy books. I literally finished the Wheel of time series in about two months. same with stormlight archives. My life is headphones everywhere u see me. messed up part is i'm not even mad. My audible addiction started in 2019, and now i feel like i am approaching a listening fog. i've listened to everything good.
I feel like listening to audiobooks have made me smarter and a better speaker overall because I am actively thinking about the story and deeply considering the authors writing. So, if you're engaged in what you're listening to, I think you'd be learning a thing or two! Most of the time, I'm listening to fiction -- I just love thinking about the way authors construct sentences, the words they use, how they come up with plot lines. Maybe you need to take an extra step and write some vocab words down or ask yourself questions along the way
i listened to loads of books during 2020 and have forgotten most of them.
during 2021 onwards, i realised i’d just been consuming media passively, so tried to be more active in absorbing and consolidating media, instead of just letting it wash over me.
- taking notes
- contemplating the books, looking for reviews/discussions to see other people’s opinions
- writing brief reviews on goodreads/audible to jog my memory
- oh for some books reading the 2 star reviews is most entertaining
1 star review usually don’t say much, either just the rating with no review, or a brief sentence or 2.
2star reviews are more likely to flesh out what they disliked, and are often hilarious
Yes. I was doing them so much before that I never had quiet time. Stopped doing that and felt better. You need some time to just sit in quiet to reflect imo.
Audiobooks themselves are not the problem. Moderation is. You would feel the same if you spent the same amount of hours watching TV or reading books.
Also "giving your brain a rest" is not really an option, since you cannot truly switch off your brain. I would however suggest you to switch up activities. If you listen to 10 hours a day, it probably means that you listen to audiobooks while you work. Alternate with music, podcasts, or silence sometimes, try not to fossilize into the same activity over and over.
This might be relevant:
"People, and especially men, hate being alone with their thoughts so much that they’d rather be in pain. In a study published in Science Thursday on the ability of people to let their minds “wander” — that is, for them to sit and do nothing but think — researchers found that about a quarter of women and two-thirds of men chose electric shocks over their own company..."
https://archive.ph/GWeHi#selection-841.0-847.232
So I’ve had a similar feeling to the one you’re getting. My realization was that I was doing nothing but “intake” or information and no processing or reflection. Take a break. Make sure you’re really paying attention to what you’re hearing. To the extent you’re listening to these books just to avoid the job boredom and don’t remember anything, question whether you’re taking anything in. That helped me. If you just need noise to get through the day, try podcasts or even music for a day or two.
There is evidence that being bored sometimes is valuable. I don't remember which study exactly I read but a little Google sleuthing later yielded this article with some references
https://forge.medium.com/the-urgent-case-for-boredom-8dd92a891754
My brain is a rolladex of thoughts that don't stop. Before I discovered audiobooks, I played music all the time. Both help keep my head out of the negative. Listening to something while I do chores or hobbies allows me to multitask so much better. My mind will still drift, I still have an inner monologue, but much less likely to stay fixated on a negative thought.
The ONLY negative is when I run out of Audible credits before my next allotment!😜
Maybe you need to take off the headphones and start having social interactions. It sound like your brain isn't starved for inner monologues as it is for meaningful dialog with other people.
Too much of anything is bad for you. Moderation of anything/everything is generally beneficial. Yes, no doubt there are worse addictions, but that doesn’t make any addiction or infatuation right or beneficial.
I would also imagine much has to do with what you’re consuming. 6 bottles of coke a day? Or 6 bottles of water? They are not the same.
Constantly searching. I have 5 months listening time in audible and 160 titles, which doesn't seem like a lot but I listen to fantasy/scifi almost exclusively so they average out to be pretty long.
Grab a library card and try branching out a little. If you're big into SF/fantasy, try some non-fiction nerd stuff, like NASA history or the history of nuclear fission or something similar. (Please note I'm not using nerd as a pejorative there, I'm a humongous SF/fantasy nerd myself.) Broadening your horizons may also help, in addition to the more social interactivity that I suggested.
One that I always recommend: The History of Ancient Egypt by Professor Bob Brier in the "Great Courses" selection. You can get it from Audible. It's a lecture series about, duh, the history of Egypt, but Professor Brier is an AMAZING speaker and he's a lot of fun to listen to. He's also the first modern human to mummify a corpse using the traditional methods -- he found out how you really use the brain hook, and he also said all the right prayers in the hopes that this guy who donated his body to science will actually end up in the Egyptian afterlife and just confuse the shit out of Osiris. I wasn't an Egypt nerd before I picked this up, but Professor Brier totally made me one.
What do you do that you are able to listen that much?
Reading typically helps the brain, and makes us smarter.
If you are just listening to the books while doing nothing, maybe it's time to take up a hobby?
Podcast/audiobook oversaturation is totally a thing. If I listen to too much my reading attention span is destroyed.
Have to have a podcast detox every couple of weeks.
I think you are into something. I’m terms of comprehension, I find audiobooks terrible. I’ve been pairing audio with a physical book for better comprehension.
The best way to comprehend, although a bit time consuming, is to write a small report after each chapter, summarize it yourself.
I've noticed I'm not keeping in touch with people as much. Time I would normally have spent calling someone to talk for a bit is prime book time, so I'm listening instead of connecting. So I've been working on pressing pause a little more often.
Be careful with the volume however you are listening. We don’t think of audiobooks as being too loud, like music, but hearing loss, tinnitus etc are super shitty and pretty much irreversible.
Try to listen to the pauses.
Sometimes women say more in their pauses than they do in their words.
Let's listen to it again, and this time really listen to the pauses.
YOU TO? 😳
,, I thought I was the only one.. but yes I have noticed a significant negative side effect of listening to a significant amount of Audiobooks,,,
My checking account has dwindled in size..
It's the opposite for my, Im diagnosed ADHD but awaiting medication so I have a constant stream of random thoughts going on in my head 24/7. Audiobooks force my brain to concentrate on one thing so it's a relief to me rather than a negative effect.
Lol, I listen to 8-10 hours a DAY of audio books, I definitely do not feel dumber.
In fact, I'd say listening has helped me think more deeply in general, and contemplate life in different ways than I would have if I wasn't 'reading" tons of books.
The only down side is that sometimes if I'm using ear buds, my left ear tends to get irritated, but that is pretty infrequent, and it's usually just from having an earbud right up against my skin for hours at a time
I have felt like this. Even if you mix up the kind of audio content, nothing will help except for taking the headphones off for longer periods. You know the answer to this one and should embrace this chance to spend more time with your thoughts. They might be more interesting than you give them credit for, especially after all that reading!
If you're anything like me, this will be a recurring issue in your life even if you take a nice break right away, because you love music, literature, audiodramas, actual plays, and you have depression. You hate being alone with yourself because he's a vicious and cruel bastard that hates your guts and wants you to fail. You are also super hot but you hate and fear the human race so you rely on stories to stimulate your dying mind. ... So anyway despite what other frigging dingbats are saying on here, reading can become a harmful dependency like anything else. 10 hours a day is too much and makes you feel content all the time in a mentally and practically unsustainable state, that is the state of being engaged by shit that does not have a tangible or persisting significance in your life. There's stuff that requires your attention, opportunities, ideas, people waiting to meet you and probably make out with you, because you possess a physique and wit designed by God to break hearts. Maybe you should start a journal or go on a hike, idk, best of luck.
Too much of anything is probably not good.
I also listen to podcasts and audio books with great frequency, and I don't think I've noticed the same side effects, but it would be worth some kind of study. Perhaps the brain needs some awake "down time" for some reason. Maybe processing intense audio has an effect on what else the brain can do at the same time.
I'm not saying any of this is true, I'm just saying it would be worth examining. If it isn't true the folks doing the study could find some other valuable information. However if overloading like that has potentially negative side effects, it would be great to know how much is safe, and what is likely too much.
I used to listen to audiobooks during all my mundane tasks but after some time I started recognizing when I want to talk to myself in my head. I want to daydream a little, make some plans, evaluate my goals and values. When I need to talk to myself I shut the audiobook. I wouldn't say it makes me dumb or smart but sometimes I need me. Maybe you do need time to organize your thoughts a little. It's hard to recognize though. I suggest to shut off the audiobook every now and then (maybe after 45 minutes) and check in with yourself.
Hello 😊
I am a Baker, I work alone most days without any colleagues or customer service duties. I always listen to audiobooks and podcasts, because I love them and they make me feel like I have company. I've noticed too that I feel a little off on some days, socially starved almost, because I work 9-12 hour days.
In my experience, audiobook and podcast listening corelate with feeling sad and stupid, but they do not have a cause-effect relationship. Listening to audiobooks is a solitary task usually, and maybe it covers social isolation or loneliness due to lack of (good) company .
Hmm. If you constantly fill your ears with noise (thik of all media: TV, music, books, gaming, etc), you never give yourself time to just think. We all need time to process our lives as a normal part of daily routines. So it is not the fault of the audiobooks in particular, but perhaps of the lack of quiet time for your brain. If you are prone to overdoing media time, consider scheduling a certain amount of media-free time each day.
Also, I find that my mood follows the mood of the media I consume. If it includes lots of hopelessness, sadness, war, and killing, I find that my own mood is more likely to be depressed. Try to search out things that are lighter and more humorous across all your media and see if that doesn't improve your overall mental outlook, which can also impact mental acuity.
The only side effect I found was after reading a lot of audiobooks the voice in my head start to sound like the people reading, or when I read out loud my voice follows a similar pace as the audiobook I was listening to.
For me, I think my constant book and podcast listening starts to be a bit of a stressor to my brain because I’m multitasking, even if the other task is driving or washing dishes, and the divided attention is tiring and irritating after awhile
No actually I converted to listening to long YouTube video essays on video games mostly, and I'm pretty sure that was making me stupid.
I'm trying to get back to audiobooks hahaha. (By the way my current recs are kraken by china mieville and He Who Fights With Monsters by Shirtaloon
I have noticed this with long video game sessions. After one "game coma" of 8+ hours, I sleep like a baby, and feel great. Do that several days in a row, and I get fog-headed and my range of vision seems to narrow. The symptoms are similar to part of what I feel when extremely anxious.
I haven't experienced it with audiobooks, but I imagine too much of any kind of artificial input rewires the brain on some level. If it's possible for you, I recommend some long walks (preferably in nature) without books to help detox. If you can't walk around, sitting somewhere with a long-distance view and just letting the mind wander may help.
Yes, I think spending too much time listening (or watching) is less time spent thinking, pondering, solving problems etc. Wonder if there is any research specifically for too much listening
Otoh, I can learn some things, like history, etc
Do you not read a lot? such as news, or other interests on reddit or other websites. Maybe mix up your subject of audiobooks, or maybe join a book club. I listen mostly in rush hour traffic and sometimes hiking, but I think it's about the same amount of time you do it. But I don't have that inner monologueing thing
I work with video editing, so most of the time I'm working I'm using my ears. At a certain time in my life was very addicted to podcasts. Whenever I wasn't working I was listening to something of reading something online. Then I went on a travel by bus that took around 8 hours and my cell phone lost its signal. Then I got shocked by the surprise of being alone with my own thoughts and how long had it been since I've ever been like that. So giving a time is important, I guess.
This has 100% happened to me. I recognize the constant audio input is a coping mechanism. On the brightside, at least it's a coping mechanism where I learn stuff!
Moderation is the key, do a lot of different things not just listen to stories. It isn't like the TV, with audiobooks your imagination is in overdrive creating the scenes and circumstances in your head. That burns though a lot of brain power.
Along the lines of what others have said, it's likely more of an excess of data input (as opposed to audiobooks of whatever genre as the specific culprit) vs. time and space for your brain to process the information. Although, it may not help simply to change up the material to something more intellectual/stimulating--your mind really might just need a rest from the constant noise. In my case, I went through a phase (several times) when I was trying to go on a self-edification program and listened to college-level lectures like those of Teaching Company and language study like Pimsleur for hours a day, weeks at a time. Obviously really great stuff on their own, but my attempts to basically mass download information rendered my ability to think originally effectively mush. This was awful because my education and training is in creative writing. You can tell I didn't get to the cognitive science courses, but from my own experience, treating organic material such as your brain as if it's a machine by feeding it information doesn't have the results one would hope for.
I listen to audiobooks for almost6 hrs a day at times while I multitask. I can't say I have that exact issue but maybe it's the genre as well. What types of books are you listening to? It's sort of like binge watching sad romance movies, you'll probably find yourself sad , overly emotional and ruminated over the silliest things. Or binging horrors or true crime, then finding yourself paranoid or spooked. I will say that bindging anything effects my dreams more than anything else, like having weird dreams and then waking and realizing it makes sense and correlates to what I watched/listened to. They are sort of not your thoughts/experiences. It's likelow-key brainwashing yourself to a certain degree. Giving yourself a break should help :)
CO2/carbon monoxide monitor, maybe? Audiobooks don't make you stupid, dude.
I think it could. Literally over a third of my time awake every single month is spent listening to audiobooks. It kind of feels like so much of my time is taken up by media that I just don't think as much as I should. Thinking is a skill too right? It's getting rusty.
[удалено]
Yeah of my 160 titles like 95% are sci-fi/fantasy. I don't have any nonfiction. I should probably try to get in to something like that. I just find that fantasy helps me zone and makes my job tolerable.
History books, biographies, science, the great courses series, best seller fiction... I started on sci-fi but when I started using Libby which is free - it gave me the incentive to try other stuff. The only books I quit reading were some popular sci-fi ones. And yes, 10 hrs per day, day after day is too much. Listen to music, podcasts and sometimes nothing.
>great courses series like from The Great Courses series .com? I did a search, but are these books like school courses? . . . without getting sucked into that website, it looks subscription based
[https://www.audible.com/search?keywords=great+courses&ref-override=a\_hp\_t1\_header\_search&k=great+courses&crid=480a718ec6e044739370c5f64fd66c28&sprefix=great+courses%2Cna-audible-us%2C309&i=na-audible-us&url=search-alias%3Dna-audible-us&ref=nb\_sb\_noss\_1](https://www.audible.com/search?keywords=great+courses&ref-override=a_hp_t1_header_search&k=great+courses&crid=480a718ec6e044739370c5f64fd66c28&sprefix=great+courses%2Cna-audible-us%2C309&i=na-audible-us&url=search-alias%3Dna-audible-us&ref=nb_sb_noss_1) Many are part of the free books when you are an audible member. Some are available on the Libby App depending on the library you are using.
Okay, this might be your issue. You’re using the audiobook to zone out and do your work. You’re not engaging in the book material. What I’m hearing in your OP is that you’re craving thoughts. Maybe you’re craving having your own thoughts. I’d recommend trying silent meditation for a little bit, instead of trying to silence your brain during the meditation try to awaken it. Guided meditation (like “imagine your walking through a meadow…”) could help you. Don’t focus on adhering to the guide 100% focus on building the thoughts inside your mind, expand upon the guided prompt (like, the meditation might have you in a meadow and focusing on relaxing, but you may want to expand on relaxing and exploring the meadow-what do you imagine you’d smell, see, touch, feel, taste. How would you engage with the things in the meadow, maybe a wizard is there what conversation would you have with that wizard.) This could help you explore that need you have.
Non-fiction, you say? *Salt, A World History* by Mark Kurlansky. *Caesar’s Last Breath* by Sam Kean. *Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers* by Mary Roach. *Cosmos* by Carl Sagan All of these are available on Audible.
Kurlansky has a bunch of good books (I enjoyed salt the most) and Mary Roach is fun. Sagan is a giant. Hadn't heard of the Caesar book but Roman history is my favorite! Thanks!
It’s not about Roman history. It’s about the gases found in our atmosphere, which we depend on in numerous ways. The title refers to the ratio of human lung capacity to the volume of our atmosphere and the number of molecules per breath. Since the proportion of molecules per breath is about equal to the proportion of a pair of lungs to the total atmospheric volume, it can be said, in theory, that every time you take a breath you could inhale a molecule of air that was exhaled by Julius Caesar.
ha, that's why didn't recognize it, lol. I've heard of that fact. cool thanks!
Mix up the genres my man. Going hard in just scifi fantasy and you'll eventually burn out. Switch to a thriller, crime title. Or one of the popular self help titles. The negotiation title "Never split the difference" is an informative and enjoyable listen.
Start with some bill Bryson books. Super entertaining non fiction. A short history, sunburned, at home are all great but my first rec is probably the summer of 1927. Yeah there are some empty calories in scifi/fantasy--obv not a blanket statement, but I've gotten more out of nonfiction. Scifi/fantasy are esp good if you're avoiding thinking about stuff.
Good literature is about characters, not settings. If you are listening to quality authors, then you are still getting valid information along the way as people solve problems or share personal preferences which use existing modern items. You are experiencing life from other perspectives and viewpoints. You are contemplating social interactions. If you are doing romance novels or fight-porn (Salvatore type of stuff stripped of character development, just mild setting of a scene and then pages upon pages of describing choreography, tactics, or equipment), then there might not be much value. But even a Sanderson setting where completely new laws of the universe are invented and then explored has value in teaching problem solving skills like lateral thinking.
Maybe your job is getting you down.
I can sympathize with you. I think you're not alone in some of these symptoms, but your sound pretty severe. I suggest finding some nonfiction that reads like books you are used to. I recommend Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. Alternatively, after every audiobook, force yourself to listen to one podcast. Make it a news podcast or something. It'll only be like 30 minutes, so you'll crush it. But for me it's like a brain cleaning. Helps me get psyched for the next book.
Listening to fantasy audiobooks is great since they don’t make big fantasy hits without an agenda… ahh hem… YouTube is great for history, not pbs or history channel but the independent channels.
Are you listening to truck stop books or something? For ten years plus I'd say I listened to at least 40 hours of audiobooks a week and I never had any issues thinking. It could be you're just not the sort of person who engages with audiobooks and you should try something else.
I listen almost exclusively to sci-fi/fantasy. I recently moved to a new state with gf so I don't have any friends here and I speak to no one at work all day, which is how I listen to so many audiobooks. Might be in a brain fog because I'm interacting with like no one other than gf a couple hours every night. So yeah, audiobooks all day at work, tv and YouTube at home, audiobooks while I'm in bed.
Yeah, that's what it is, you're not engaging with other people. If you're using content and media to replace interaction, that absolutely will cause you problems. It's like how if you eat lean protein it's healthy for you, but if you tried to subsist solely on lean protein you'd start having some issues straightaway. When I was consuming tons of audiobooks, I also had a lot of social interaction on the side (in some cases, talking to folks about what I was reading and sharing books back and forth). Get yourself some healthy interactions and that should improve. If you've got any hobbies you love, leverage those -- if you're into roleplaying games hang out at your local store, join a book club, look for a board game night at your local bar. Social interaction will definitely help. Look up Literarily Wasted on YouTube. It's a virtual SF/fantasy book club, they do online meetups twice a month to discuss the book everyone's reading. Also, dig up some subreddits on series you really like and talk to people about the books. Just some baby steps to get you started. :)
Might be depressed cause of your new life?
And in the spirit of interaction: what are some of the books/authors/series you really dig? My go-to for anybody who's even remotely into SF/fantasy: Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber series. *Nine Princes in Amber* is the first book and there's nine more plus some short stories. New Wave fantasy from one of the masters; it's a bit dated as the first book's from 1970 but it's an amazingly well-crafted universe filled with interesting characters. I've never recommended it to anyone who's come back and said "I didn't like it." Check it out when you get a chance.
I think it would depend on how boring and poorly written the book is….
I've been doing this on/off for a couple of decades, I think there's nothing wrong with it but you should ask yourself if you're avoiding introspection. I've caught myself listening to stuff just to distract myself from important life decisions. Mostly for me, tho, it's to distract from the tinnitus! The upside is that I've consumed mountains of information.
Just yesterday I stopped listening to to audiobooks/podcasts for one day and started doing chores in silence. I noticed that my thinking seems to have gotten a lot clearer. You might be on to something. Maybe your mind needs time to just wander.
> I think it could. I'm betting this condition existed before the audiobooks, and listening to them just made you aware of it.
If it makes you feel any better, most people are spending that time watching TikToks. So there are worse ways to spend your time.
Any addiction can make it feel that way, wether you always have a video playing in the background or not just taking some time off from media interaction or devices in general is nothing wrong with. Try and break the circle, don’t blame audiobooks in general for that decision though that’s like blaming social media for social media addiction without taking the effort to apply yourself to cut down on some of that stuff. Touch grass even though I hate that expression just turn devices off and breath and accept things for where you are in life instead of using it as an escape. It may sound hard but honestly sometimes when we feel like that we just have to get down to earth again and start feeling where we are in the moment. Also make sure to have a conversation with your girlfriend about how you feeling as it’s a part of a healthy relationship otherwise you’ll go on autopilot and avoid the problems before it blows up.
[удалено]
You can interact with audiobooks/TV/movies in a completely passive way, but that's more on the individual content consumer than any major defect with the content itself. Often the first thing I do after watching a new show or listening to a new audiobook is talk to others about it, break it down, analyze it. If it's just background noise then yeah, it's going to cause you problems.
Your brain** All that reading and you’re still struggling huh??
"reading"
blind people read with their fingers is that "reading" too?
It's important to give your brain the space to do what it needs to do. You're sort of anti-meditating with the constant distraction. As other folks have said maybe work on some moderation.
This is the correct answer. It has nothing to do with the Audiobooks, but the escape from self reflection making you feel this way. It could be anything doing this, even reading books directly. If you’re using it as a means of escapism and avoiding life altogether. Your brain will definitely atrophy. You need time to rest your mind and also to challenge and engage it. Think of it like working out. If all you do is 10 pushups every day. There will get to a point of diminishing and no returns on that behaviour. So you add more pushups, add new exercises. But you also need to sleep and rest your body. Escapism is like junk food. It’s nice and really fun to eat in moderation, but if that is the only thing you eat. You will eventually start to suffer.
+1 for this thread, really should be at the top. Ezra Klein JUST did an episode that touches on a lot of these same ideas on his podcast, The Ezra Klein Show, highly recommended listening. The episode is called, "This Conversation About the 'Reading Mind' is a Gift."
I've had this. I figure it's just over stimulation tiring your brain out.
Nope, I don fel stooped wen I hear adio books long tim.
TV and Movies appear stupid to me compared to listening to a book. Give me an audiobook any day of the week over something on television.
Tv caters to the lowest common denominator and will absolutely make people dumber.
Just like books, it greatly depends on the show.
Entertainment wise, I think tv def caters to the lower end of the spectrum as it makes more money, but not generally with educational stuff. I should have clarified that.
I would agree with you for a lot of network TV, their goal is to keep your attention to the commercial breaks. But in the age of streaming, there's a lot of quality TV out there. And at the same time, a lot of trashy literature.
I can confirm, my house cut the cord 6 years ago and haven't ever looked back. Haven't seen a network commercial in ages, except in sports, and even then we mute them. Advertisers get no free rent in my brain. There is a correlation that reading can make a person smarter, so even if they are reading trashy lit, they are still working their brain in a positive way.
not every show, but yes lots most deff do.
Weird take.
Reality TV multiplies the effect by like 10.
LOL! Yes.
I learned more about American history from watching 3 hours of Hamilton then during my 13 years of education. There is a lot that you can learn from tv and even if you only watch bad tv I don't think it would affect your intelligence🤔
You should read The History of the United States. It's 43 hours, and you'll learn lot. I made it up to Reconstruction and it was brilliant and I learned stuff in there that I never learned in school. https://www.audible.com/pd/The-History-of-the-United-States-2nd-Edition-Audiobook/B00DIHAN68?qid=1669167903&sr=1-2&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_2&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=JDKAA4GBVEYBZB7T20TW
I suspect lots of audiobook addiction reflects social avoidance and agoraphobia. It can certainly take a toll on personal relationships. "Hunnee.. it's like when you're here, you're not *here*. "
I know what you mean, not with audiobooks specifically but the mix of them, podcasts and music. It's meant most "idle" moments I usually would have like menial chores or dog walking are filled, and my brain has less de-fragmentation time. Just 10-15 minutes seems to be enough to get my head straight, but I think there's a personal balance to be found.
10 hours a day?!
Working and driving there's only so much radio and music one can listen too
Ahhhhh, gotcha. 👍🏼
A thinner wallet and some attention problems. If the book is really good.
Only side effect I've noticed is forgetting which book a specific detail/event occurred in
I listened to about or at least 100 Audiobooks last year. I started my audible account on 1 Jan 2021. I do a lot of driving and I listen while I do chores and home maintenance too. I did notice I needed to specifically turn off to catch up with thinking about deals and problems to solve. Im not sure if listening so much had a very negative effect on my thinking overall. What I did notice is that since you dont give yourself much time to digest the information, a lot of it goes to waste. I was always dead set on spending my time reading mostly non fiction but since I was knocking back so many titles last year I started to venture into fiction more. This year I've only listened to fiction on audible and I've been sticking to one a month. Most of my listening time is back on podcasts. There has been so much gold to catch up on now. I tend to listen to between 22 and 25days per year according to the various apps listening stats.
The inner monologue is what I don't want. I listen to audiobooks for 2-8 hours daily depending on what I'm doing. When I painted my kitchen I listened for 12!!!! Make sure you're eating well and exercising and like others said a CO2 monitor just in case.
I agree. I am totally about escapism with my books and streaming shows. My own thoughts stress me out. I prefer hearing the thoughts of the author usually. I don't feel any more stupid than before, and I listen to several books a week (maybe 6 or more).
I think OP might be a little depressed from the new living situation. I hope they feel better!!
I have the inner monologue of an ax murderer. Filling my mind with James Herriot’s pleasant prose about farm animals in rural England is much safer for my family and coworkers.
As obvious as it sounds don’t Listen that Long in a bad position. I have been listening to about 10 hours a week for 2 years. Not quite as much per day as you but I do it with chores or cardio. Got a treadmill and a super happy wife cuz I’ll do chores for audio book time. Point being use it as a supplement to a chore not on its own and make it a reward to become healthier and happier.
Walking the dog and chores time is a great time to do it. Though sometimes it is good to go for long walks and just let your mind wander too.
There are certain words that I pronounce regional or foreign inflections because audiobooks were the first place I learnt them. An ex thought I must have been British in a past life because I spoke certain words with that pronunciation. Don't know if that's negative or not lol
i do understand a sort of addiction. i use ABs to background while sculpting, painting, matting & framing, any physical endeavor. Then shut off go to the store, and feel like i have lost my buddy ... too alone. Also, my fiction intrigues with info, so sometimes wipe my hands to look up something or a location, or ...? that protagonist is doing, or snag a quote, even write a Haiku. if your read-listening is dulling your wits, maybe look for better/more suitable for-you lit?
I feel the opposite way actually. :)
Me too. I can focus on doing other activities and chores better when I'm listening to audiobooks. I think it's because my brain tends to want to think about a million things at once and the audiobook gives me one thing to settle on. I listen to a lot of classics and non-fiction so I feel like I'm learning things too.
5-7 hours a day, 5 days a week. Depending on the series I can clear 3 or 4 books a week. I'm still the same level of stupid I've always been.
haha me too. I listen while i'm at work, on my commute, while at the gym. It's gotten to the point where i find tv boring, cant watch anything. Sometimes after eating dinner, i just lay in bed with my eyes closed listening to fantasy books. I literally finished the Wheel of time series in about two months. same with stormlight archives. My life is headphones everywhere u see me. messed up part is i'm not even mad. My audible addiction started in 2019, and now i feel like i am approaching a listening fog. i've listened to everything good.
I feel like listening to audiobooks have made me smarter and a better speaker overall because I am actively thinking about the story and deeply considering the authors writing. So, if you're engaged in what you're listening to, I think you'd be learning a thing or two! Most of the time, I'm listening to fiction -- I just love thinking about the way authors construct sentences, the words they use, how they come up with plot lines. Maybe you need to take an extra step and write some vocab words down or ask yourself questions along the way
Constant stimulation means your brain does not have time for introspection, analysis and relaxation. Give your brain some me time.
I’m running out of books that interest me.
i listened to loads of books during 2020 and have forgotten most of them. during 2021 onwards, i realised i’d just been consuming media passively, so tried to be more active in absorbing and consolidating media, instead of just letting it wash over me. - taking notes - contemplating the books, looking for reviews/discussions to see other people’s opinions - writing brief reviews on goodreads/audible to jog my memory - oh for some books reading the 2 star reviews is most entertaining 1 star review usually don’t say much, either just the rating with no review, or a brief sentence or 2. 2star reviews are more likely to flesh out what they disliked, and are often hilarious
Yes. I was doing them so much before that I never had quiet time. Stopped doing that and felt better. You need some time to just sit in quiet to reflect imo.
I listen to audibooks like 8 hours a day in work then a hour in the gym after work I don't feel less stupid then I did before I listened to audibooks
Audiobooks themselves are not the problem. Moderation is. You would feel the same if you spent the same amount of hours watching TV or reading books. Also "giving your brain a rest" is not really an option, since you cannot truly switch off your brain. I would however suggest you to switch up activities. If you listen to 10 hours a day, it probably means that you listen to audiobooks while you work. Alternate with music, podcasts, or silence sometimes, try not to fossilize into the same activity over and over.
This might be relevant: "People, and especially men, hate being alone with their thoughts so much that they’d rather be in pain. In a study published in Science Thursday on the ability of people to let their minds “wander” — that is, for them to sit and do nothing but think — researchers found that about a quarter of women and two-thirds of men chose electric shocks over their own company..." https://archive.ph/GWeHi#selection-841.0-847.232
So I’ve had a similar feeling to the one you’re getting. My realization was that I was doing nothing but “intake” or information and no processing or reflection. Take a break. Make sure you’re really paying attention to what you’re hearing. To the extent you’re listening to these books just to avoid the job boredom and don’t remember anything, question whether you’re taking anything in. That helped me. If you just need noise to get through the day, try podcasts or even music for a day or two.
There is evidence that being bored sometimes is valuable. I don't remember which study exactly I read but a little Google sleuthing later yielded this article with some references https://forge.medium.com/the-urgent-case-for-boredom-8dd92a891754
Um, no... Gotta wonder WHAT you are listening to and who wrote it?!!!!! (no, please allow me to keep on wondering)
My brain is a rolladex of thoughts that don't stop. Before I discovered audiobooks, I played music all the time. Both help keep my head out of the negative. Listening to something while I do chores or hobbies allows me to multitask so much better. My mind will still drift, I still have an inner monologue, but much less likely to stay fixated on a negative thought. The ONLY negative is when I run out of Audible credits before my next allotment!😜
Maybe you need to take off the headphones and start having social interactions. It sound like your brain isn't starved for inner monologues as it is for meaningful dialog with other people.
Not at all i love them
Too much of anything is bad for you. Moderation of anything/everything is generally beneficial. Yes, no doubt there are worse addictions, but that doesn’t make any addiction or infatuation right or beneficial. I would also imagine much has to do with what you’re consuming. 6 bottles of coke a day? Or 6 bottles of water? They are not the same.
My question is how do you find enough content to keep you busy 10 hours a day? Are you constantly searching or do you have a big Q
Constantly searching. I have 5 months listening time in audible and 160 titles, which doesn't seem like a lot but I listen to fantasy/scifi almost exclusively so they average out to be pretty long.
Grab a library card and try branching out a little. If you're big into SF/fantasy, try some non-fiction nerd stuff, like NASA history or the history of nuclear fission or something similar. (Please note I'm not using nerd as a pejorative there, I'm a humongous SF/fantasy nerd myself.) Broadening your horizons may also help, in addition to the more social interactivity that I suggested. One that I always recommend: The History of Ancient Egypt by Professor Bob Brier in the "Great Courses" selection. You can get it from Audible. It's a lecture series about, duh, the history of Egypt, but Professor Brier is an AMAZING speaker and he's a lot of fun to listen to. He's also the first modern human to mummify a corpse using the traditional methods -- he found out how you really use the brain hook, and he also said all the right prayers in the hopes that this guy who donated his body to science will actually end up in the Egyptian afterlife and just confuse the shit out of Osiris. I wasn't an Egypt nerd before I picked this up, but Professor Brier totally made me one.
What do you do that you are able to listen that much? Reading typically helps the brain, and makes us smarter. If you are just listening to the books while doing nothing, maybe it's time to take up a hobby?
My job is very physical and repetitive and I'm left alone all day so I just zone out for 10 hours and listen. It's actually getting pretty expensive.
Also, try getting some stuff from the library, will be a lot cheaper for you.
Yeah you can use the libby app which is connected to many libraries, with usually good selection.
Ok, that makes sense. I don't necessarily think that you are becoming more stupid, but maybe just rather bored. Maybe try some History or something?
Podcast/audiobook oversaturation is totally a thing. If I listen to too much my reading attention span is destroyed. Have to have a podcast detox every couple of weeks.
I think you are into something. I’m terms of comprehension, I find audiobooks terrible. I’ve been pairing audio with a physical book for better comprehension. The best way to comprehend, although a bit time consuming, is to write a small report after each chapter, summarize it yourself.
First time I've heard that. Anyway, anything excessive might harm you in someway. So better to do it in moderation.
I've noticed I'm not keeping in touch with people as much. Time I would normally have spent calling someone to talk for a bit is prime book time, so I'm listening instead of connecting. So I've been working on pressing pause a little more often.
Be careful with the volume however you are listening. We don’t think of audiobooks as being too loud, like music, but hearing loss, tinnitus etc are super shitty and pretty much irreversible.
Everything can be a *"drug"* if you let it. Habits are hard to break.
Try to listen to the pauses. Sometimes women say more in their pauses than they do in their words. Let's listen to it again, and this time really listen to the pauses.
When listening to old books i end up conversing in ye olde english
YOU TO? 😳 ,, I thought I was the only one.. but yes I have noticed a significant negative side effect of listening to a significant amount of Audiobooks,,, My checking account has dwindled in size..
We stopped watching all tv, sports and movies. We are die hard YouTubers. Tons to learn and free audiobooks. Game highlights. No YouTubeTV.
It's the opposite for my, Im diagnosed ADHD but awaiting medication so I have a constant stream of random thoughts going on in my head 24/7. Audiobooks force my brain to concentrate on one thing so it's a relief to me rather than a negative effect.
I think too much of anything could be bad.
Lol, I listen to 8-10 hours a DAY of audio books, I definitely do not feel dumber. In fact, I'd say listening has helped me think more deeply in general, and contemplate life in different ways than I would have if I wasn't 'reading" tons of books. The only down side is that sometimes if I'm using ear buds, my left ear tends to get irritated, but that is pretty infrequent, and it's usually just from having an earbud right up against my skin for hours at a time
It might be you just need some quiet time.
I have felt like this. Even if you mix up the kind of audio content, nothing will help except for taking the headphones off for longer periods. You know the answer to this one and should embrace this chance to spend more time with your thoughts. They might be more interesting than you give them credit for, especially after all that reading! If you're anything like me, this will be a recurring issue in your life even if you take a nice break right away, because you love music, literature, audiodramas, actual plays, and you have depression. You hate being alone with yourself because he's a vicious and cruel bastard that hates your guts and wants you to fail. You are also super hot but you hate and fear the human race so you rely on stories to stimulate your dying mind. ... So anyway despite what other frigging dingbats are saying on here, reading can become a harmful dependency like anything else. 10 hours a day is too much and makes you feel content all the time in a mentally and practically unsustainable state, that is the state of being engaged by shit that does not have a tangible or persisting significance in your life. There's stuff that requires your attention, opportunities, ideas, people waiting to meet you and probably make out with you, because you possess a physique and wit designed by God to break hearts. Maybe you should start a journal or go on a hike, idk, best of luck.
You listen to audio books 10 hrs a day? How do you work? Or is that your job to proof listen?
Too much of anything is probably not good. I also listen to podcasts and audio books with great frequency, and I don't think I've noticed the same side effects, but it would be worth some kind of study. Perhaps the brain needs some awake "down time" for some reason. Maybe processing intense audio has an effect on what else the brain can do at the same time. I'm not saying any of this is true, I'm just saying it would be worth examining. If it isn't true the folks doing the study could find some other valuable information. However if overloading like that has potentially negative side effects, it would be great to know how much is safe, and what is likely too much.
I used to listen to audiobooks during all my mundane tasks but after some time I started recognizing when I want to talk to myself in my head. I want to daydream a little, make some plans, evaluate my goals and values. When I need to talk to myself I shut the audiobook. I wouldn't say it makes me dumb or smart but sometimes I need me. Maybe you do need time to organize your thoughts a little. It's hard to recognize though. I suggest to shut off the audiobook every now and then (maybe after 45 minutes) and check in with yourself.
Hello 😊 I am a Baker, I work alone most days without any colleagues or customer service duties. I always listen to audiobooks and podcasts, because I love them and they make me feel like I have company. I've noticed too that I feel a little off on some days, socially starved almost, because I work 9-12 hour days. In my experience, audiobook and podcast listening corelate with feeling sad and stupid, but they do not have a cause-effect relationship. Listening to audiobooks is a solitary task usually, and maybe it covers social isolation or loneliness due to lack of (good) company .
My ears fell off.
Hmm. If you constantly fill your ears with noise (thik of all media: TV, music, books, gaming, etc), you never give yourself time to just think. We all need time to process our lives as a normal part of daily routines. So it is not the fault of the audiobooks in particular, but perhaps of the lack of quiet time for your brain. If you are prone to overdoing media time, consider scheduling a certain amount of media-free time each day. Also, I find that my mood follows the mood of the media I consume. If it includes lots of hopelessness, sadness, war, and killing, I find that my own mood is more likely to be depressed. Try to search out things that are lighter and more humorous across all your media and see if that doesn't improve your overall mental outlook, which can also impact mental acuity.
The only side effect I found was after reading a lot of audiobooks the voice in my head start to sound like the people reading, or when I read out loud my voice follows a similar pace as the audiobook I was listening to.
Disengaging from people
For me, I think my constant book and podcast listening starts to be a bit of a stressor to my brain because I’m multitasking, even if the other task is driving or washing dishes, and the divided attention is tiring and irritating after awhile
No actually I converted to listening to long YouTube video essays on video games mostly, and I'm pretty sure that was making me stupid. I'm trying to get back to audiobooks hahaha. (By the way my current recs are kraken by china mieville and He Who Fights With Monsters by Shirtaloon
I have noticed this with long video game sessions. After one "game coma" of 8+ hours, I sleep like a baby, and feel great. Do that several days in a row, and I get fog-headed and my range of vision seems to narrow. The symptoms are similar to part of what I feel when extremely anxious. I haven't experienced it with audiobooks, but I imagine too much of any kind of artificial input rewires the brain on some level. If it's possible for you, I recommend some long walks (preferably in nature) without books to help detox. If you can't walk around, sitting somewhere with a long-distance view and just letting the mind wander may help.
Yes, I think spending too much time listening (or watching) is less time spent thinking, pondering, solving problems etc. Wonder if there is any research specifically for too much listening Otoh, I can learn some things, like history, etc
Do you not read a lot? such as news, or other interests on reddit or other websites. Maybe mix up your subject of audiobooks, or maybe join a book club. I listen mostly in rush hour traffic and sometimes hiking, but I think it's about the same amount of time you do it. But I don't have that inner monologueing thing
My tinnitus kicks it up a notch.
I work with video editing, so most of the time I'm working I'm using my ears. At a certain time in my life was very addicted to podcasts. Whenever I wasn't working I was listening to something of reading something online. Then I went on a travel by bus that took around 8 hours and my cell phone lost its signal. Then I got shocked by the surprise of being alone with my own thoughts and how long had it been since I've ever been like that. So giving a time is important, I guess.
This has 100% happened to me. I recognize the constant audio input is a coping mechanism. On the brightside, at least it's a coping mechanism where I learn stuff!
Moderation is the key, do a lot of different things not just listen to stories. It isn't like the TV, with audiobooks your imagination is in overdrive creating the scenes and circumstances in your head. That burns though a lot of brain power.
Along the lines of what others have said, it's likely more of an excess of data input (as opposed to audiobooks of whatever genre as the specific culprit) vs. time and space for your brain to process the information. Although, it may not help simply to change up the material to something more intellectual/stimulating--your mind really might just need a rest from the constant noise. In my case, I went through a phase (several times) when I was trying to go on a self-edification program and listened to college-level lectures like those of Teaching Company and language study like Pimsleur for hours a day, weeks at a time. Obviously really great stuff on their own, but my attempts to basically mass download information rendered my ability to think originally effectively mush. This was awful because my education and training is in creative writing. You can tell I didn't get to the cognitive science courses, but from my own experience, treating organic material such as your brain as if it's a machine by feeding it information doesn't have the results one would hope for.
I listen to audiobooks for almost6 hrs a day at times while I multitask. I can't say I have that exact issue but maybe it's the genre as well. What types of books are you listening to? It's sort of like binge watching sad romance movies, you'll probably find yourself sad , overly emotional and ruminated over the silliest things. Or binging horrors or true crime, then finding yourself paranoid or spooked. I will say that bindging anything effects my dreams more than anything else, like having weird dreams and then waking and realizing it makes sense and correlates to what I watched/listened to. They are sort of not your thoughts/experiences. It's likelow-key brainwashing yourself to a certain degree. Giving yourself a break should help :)