Podcast listening habits and motivations of university students: The example of Gümüşhane University

With today's technological developments, people are trying to contribute to their personal development in their busy life pace. The most striking feature among the reasons why users turn to podcasts is; Digital channels are evolving into a different culture and offering more diverse content. While in the pre-podcast period, bloggers were making a lot of effort to be read and YouTube publishers and radio broadcasters were making a lot of effort to be listened to, now it is possible for both parties to continue their work with pleasure, thanks to audio blogs and podcasts, which are the new habit of users. This study is prepared to determine the podcast listening habits and motivations of university students. In this context, answers are sought to questions such as why university students listen to Podcasts, the Podcast categories they prefer most, which platforms they prefer while listening to podcasts, the effects of podcasts on their social and individual lives, and what the advantages and disadvantages are for university students who listen to podcasts. In the study, semi-structured interview technique, one of the data collection methods, is used. Within the scope of the research, face-to-face interviews were held with a total of 26 participants, 13 women and 13 men. Since it was not possible to reach all podcast listeners within the scope of the study and the determined population was of an appropriate size, the sample preference was determined to include associate, undergraduate and graduate students studying at Gümüşhane University and purposeful sampling was used among the sampling methods.As a result of the data obtained from the interviews, it is determined that the podcast listening habits of university students are generally similar. When podcast listening motivations are examined, it is determined that age, gender, personal and cognitive needs are effective factors, and participants mostly follow publications that they think will contribute to their personal development and are psychologically effective. The subject discussed in the study and the data obtained are compatible with similar studies in the literature.