LIVE LONG ON RADIO
You’ll live a longer, healthier life if you listen to the radio. Specifically – listen to radio that is hosted live, in real-time. DISCLAIMER: I host radio, live in real-time.
In studies about healthy aging*, our longevity is improved when we feel social connection. At the same time, contemporary lifestyles seem to be increasing the amount of time we are by ourselves – commuting to work, working remotely, watching movies at home, shopping online, dating online, scrolling social media. There’s more opportunities for us to feel like we live in a virtual silo.
While it’s common, and perfectly healthy, for us to spend some time alone – whether by preference or necessity – the result may be that social disconnection is becoming our norm. Technology, in particular, seems to enable our consumption of content in isolation from others, even if we’re sitting right beside them.
Listening to the radio is one of the only things we can do completely alone and simultaneously connect in a meaningful way with other people.
Adam hosted the morning show in Orangeville, ON in the early/mid 1990s
A station’s format and programming approach that engages you with music or talk, and other content like contests, amplifies the powerful way that radio is entertaining, informative, fun, and evokes emotionally charged responses.
The key to extending your longevity, however, is hearing a live host on-air, and having a constant awareness that you, the host and other people are embracing the vibe of the format and the feel of the moment together in real-time. A live radio host can help you relate to the content being broadcast, speak about what’s currently happening in the world and your community, and take calls from you and other listeners interactively on-air in a way that lets you know that, in fact, you’re not alone.
Even if you’re physically by yourself, an exceptional radio host and great programming will make you feel like you’re connected with total strangers in entirely different places as an intimate family with shared interests and values.
This is not an experience that, I find, is possible when I watch TV alone, listen to a podcast, playlist or audio book alone, exercise alone, read alone, commute alone, go grocery shopping alone, scroll social media alone, or work alone. Again, some of these things are meant to be done alone, or not a threat to your health when done alone. But, if it’s crucial to our longevity, I believe social connection is something we should be making sure to add to our lives every day, in any way possible.
Keep enjoying everything you do alone. I’m not suggesting it’s even possible to unravel the societal momentum of some aspects of the virtual silos in which we seem to increasingly live.
What I am saying is that a few minutes of live-hosted, real-time radio every day will add years to your life.
Mic drop.
Longevity and Social Connection Research: