The content we consume in our sleep

Falling asleep to podcasts is raising some questions

Every morning begins with an Easter-egg style hunt for my two AirPods. I’ve found AirPods crushed under my scapula, hidden in the depths of a pillow case, and sometimes, after frantically ruffling the sheets in desperate attempt to locate one after a minute of searching in the usual locations, a single AirPod will fly across the room, hitting the wall with a pin-drop *ting*.

This unusual morning routine is the result of a bad (?) habit I’ve adopted: falling asleep while listening to a podcast or audiobook with the noise-cancelling ear buds. Often at night, my eyes cannot stay open a moment more, yet my brain needs a distraction from the end-of-day anxieties and to-do lists. 

I suppose this is where apps such as Headspace or Calm come into play. I suppose I could employ one of these subscription services to gradually embrace the oncoming slumber, with their peaceful compositions of music and guided meditations designed specifically for sleep. Instead, I opt for the first few minutes of How I Built This, The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast, or The Prof G Pod - the last of which has a bumpin’ intro song that often pulls me out of my near-sleep. 

When we talk about consuming consciously, we often think about materiality. That is, actual material goods, and what we choose to physically purchase or consume. 

I personally fear the application of the ‘conscious consumerism’ concept to worlds outside of materiality — such as media — because I know that I’m not very good at consuming media very consciously.

I’m addicted to the scroll, just like nearly everyone else. 

But the thing is, conscious consumption of media and conscious consumption of materials are invariably linked. The media we consume— whether it’s a podcast, book, movie, streaming episode, YouTube video, Instagram post, tiktok, etc.— influence our existential desires, which in turn influence our desires for material goods. (And this is to say nothing of the advertisements peppering our media landscape.)

Each new piece of media we consume tips or turns our (metaphorical) heads in a different direction, ultimately orienting us toward a unique composition of identity. In other words, the media we consume shapes who we believe we are, how we want to live, and how we want to present ourselves to others.

In our consumer-based culture, we often use objects as materials to articulate this self-expression. Historian Frank Trentmann argues that this isn’t necessarily a new practice, but in the modern era of lifestyle and personal branding, much of what we consume serves this existential purpose. (My favorite quick read illustrating this concept argues that “people don’t buy products, they buy better versions of themselves”.)

When I’m fully awake, I’m in a better position to filter the messages I consume. I’m able to reflect on them and consider if they are worthy of orienting my beliefs and my desires. I can’t say the same for the integrity of my internal processing while I’m occupying the liminal space between awake and asleep.

So for me, the question I’m grappling with is this: am I practicing conscious consumerism when it counts? 

Or are my nighttime media consumption habits influencing me at my most vulnerable and liminal state? Perhaps I would be better off paying $12.99/month for a guided meditation app, or better yet, $0/month to remove the AirPods and just count sheep.

—

Every Thursday I post a [low-edited] thought about about consumer culture and/or conscious consumerism. These are just conversation starters - scratching at the surface of a deeper thing that I’d love your help in discovering. Please share any reactions, thoughts, questions, etc. below!