The matter in summary More and more people are choosing to watch and listen to audiobooks, podcasts, series and films at a higher speed than normal. At the audiobook service Fabel, approximately 16 percent listen at a different playback speed than normal, and 13 percent increase the speed. Neurologist Jana Midelfart Hoff warns that listening at high speed can lead to not getting all the content, and can contribute to overloading the brain. Hoff compares the trend to fast food, and expresses concern that it may affect the ability to be in the present and concentrate. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I think the speed is generally quite low, and I think it takes too long, says Tevje Berge. More and more people are choosing a faster pace than normal when listening to audiobooks and podcasts, or whether they are going to watch series or films. – If a video is 20 minutes, then I just want to finish the video. Then I put on maybe 1.5 or 2 in speed. Berge is studying digital marketing at BI Business School in Bergen Photo: Oda Marie Rønning / news Berge uses a particularly high speed in connection with his studies. – You can always go back, but I feel they talk a little too much about things that are not relevant. That’s why I choose to turn up the speed to get rid of the irrelevant. Do you listen to podcasts or audiobooks at a higher speed? Yes, I do that all the time! Yes, occasionally. No, absolutely not. No, but would like to try it now! Show result Increase in recent years At the audiobook service Fabel, approximately 16 percent listen at a different playback speed than normal. Of those, 13 percent set the speed of the audiobooks. The average speed for those who use other playback speeds is approximately 1.3. In Nextory, they have seen over the past two years that there has been a steady increase in “fast-forwarding”, i.e. those who listen faster than normal speed. – Today, approximately 15 percent of our Norwegian users use the function every month. There is an increase of 4 per cent compared to October 2022, says Karolina Bjernefalk in Swedish Nextory. The speed of most streaming services goes up to twice as fast as normal. Silje Årsbog Bjåstad shows the journalist how it is done. Photo: Oda Marie Rønning / news – The vast majority prefer to listen to the Norwegian voices at normal speed, i.e. the way the books were read. A small proportion listen at a slightly higher speed, and some also choose a slightly lower speed. So says Ole Werring, who is responsible for Storytel AS on the Norwegian market. – In total, well over ninety percent listen at normal speed or slower. The remaining proportion primarily listens at speeds between 1 and 1.5 times the original, i.e. slightly higher. Very few listen to speeds faster than this. Hear the difference between Ivar Nergaard in normal, 1.5x speed, and 2x speed here (BONUS: also listen in 3x, 4x, and 5x at the bottom of the story): Play sound It’s midnight, and snow is blowing in from the sea. A young man walks over a high railway bridge in the direction of Stockholm. His face is as pale as frosted glass Twice as fast = twice as little content – My advice is, listen to the book at the speed it should be, says Jana Midelfart Hoff. She is a neurologist and an expert on the brain. – What does it mean for the brain that the playback speed is faster than normal? – There and then it is not dangerous. We have to establish that. But it’s clear that when you play more than 1.5 times as fast, you won’t catch what’s going on. Twice as fast, is twice as little content, says Midelfart Hoff. news meets Tevje Berge, Silje Årsbog Bjåstad and Hedda Larsstuen inside the Bergen Public Library Photo: Oda Marie Rønning / news – The biggest concern is that when we play fast – presumably because we have to finish eight audiobooks, not just three in one evening – then don’t we learn to be in the present and to concentrate. In the long run, it is a bad thing for our brain. The fact that we receive so much information in a short time can contribute to a kind of overload for the brain. – Now we know that fast food is not so good for us. The question is whether fast sound is also not in the long run. – There is a point in the book being read from A to B. There is a point in the film being made that way. Most of all, it makes sense that we should practice staying in the moment and being concentrated, because that is what we need in the part of life that we live and not just watch. – Speaks supersonic Ivar Nergaard is an actor and test writer. He is also the voice behind a bunch of different books. He himself thinks that he already reads quickly at normal speed. – Now I think I read fast enough as it is. Ivar Nergaard, actor and lyricist. Photo: Aida Khorami/news When news plays his voice at a higher speed, respectively 1.5x and 2x, he is shocked. – Then you are talking supersonic. That can’t be something pleasant to listen to in books. You’re going to have a good time with a book. It goes by so quickly that you don’t have time to breathe, and the content disappears, I think. Can you understand Ivar Nergaard at 3x, 4x and 5x speed? Play sound It is midnight, and snow is blowing in from the sea. A young man walks across a high railway bridge in the direction of Stockholm. His face is pale as frosted glass. Published 10/10/2024, at 22.25
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Increasing trend with faster playback of audiobooks, podcasts, films and series – news Vestland
