iHeart Media, whose declared mission is “To give everyone in America a friend … anytime, anywhere,” has released AudioCon 2025: The Human Consumer, a study of consumer listening. iHeart observes an annual drumbeat of research of which this study is a part, preceded by the New American Consumer (2023) and The Ignored Consumer (2024).
The motivating principle of the research is to strengthen the relationship between America’s largest radio network and its listeners. Before getting to the numbers, iHeart declares that nine out of 10 Americans listen to its broadcast radio stations.
The slide deck (which, by the way, is HERE), is sorted into three Insights representing listener perspectives.
“They know they’re caught in algorithmic bubbles”
We enjoy the idea of bubbling algorithms, but iHeart’s observation is sternly critical of the internet’s underlying algorithmic workings. A few research findings:
- 92% use social media, but 2/3 of consumers say social media makes them feel worse and more disconnected than before.
- Seven of 10 respondents hate clickbait but still fall for it.
- Seventy percent of users feel they’ve “lost control” of their feed content.
Along with those discontents, consumers no longer “inherently trust” the information they’re fed. Most people say media only reflects what they already believe, and about the same number think that neutrality is impossible. Most respondents said they know algorithms “shape their lives.”
The upshot of these findings focused on AI and algorithmic programming i this:
- People need AI
- People use AI
- People are worried about AI
- People are adjusting to all the AI
“The Human Consumer”
One might not have thought that “the human consumer” needed definition, but here is iHeart’s point:
“The human consumer is defined not by demographics, but by a deep yearning for authenticity and real emotional connection in a world increasingly dominated by algorithms and artificiality.”
Assuming the voice of global psychologist (or perhaps alien observer of humanity), iHeart identified “Key traits of humans in 2025:
The lessons for marketers
iHeart offers three advice points to foster trust:
- Treat trust as a strategic imperative
- Human connection is currency
- Balance tech and trust
The full 37-page presentation is HERE.
