Radio Makes You Happier

I admit, I like listening to the radio. I like listening to both terrestrial and satellite radio at home and at work. Sometimes I like listening to the radio more than I like watching tv. This London Telegraph article mentions that there is research indicating that listening to the radio made people happier and gave people higher energy levels than watching tv or Internet surfing.

In some ways, this makes sense. For me, listening to the radio allows me to multitask. I can look at and do something else while listening to the radio whereas with tv, I have to focus on it. Also with the radio, I can focus more on the personalities and for lack of a better phrase "get to know them" a little bit - in terms of their on air personalities. It makes me feel like they are my "friends" a little bit more since they are reliable (on at the same time time most days) and talk about things I enjoy listening to and may have an feeling about. I can't help but sometimes wonder how things are going and what my on air personalities are up to. I can't help to think this may make people happier and give them more energy to deal with the day. With tv, there's so much emphasis to the visual that a lot of the personality (and perceived friendship) is sacrified, in my opinion.

To me, this helps justify the money I spend on radios and satellite radios - which some may think is excessive.