#10 - Listening Posts

 Listening Posts 

 

I would classify a listening post as wherever I am most often. One of these places would be my house because I do not live on campus. There, I gather information from my parents, siblings, and close friends and family who come over. When I am not at home, I am usually at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM). This is where I gather information from my peers and other college students that spend more time on campus than I do.  

Because listening posts are often places where you see the same people, you share many of the same information and interests. At my house, we talk daily about our lives, whether it be about work or school. At the BCM, it is the same, but we usually have more to talk about during our time together because I do not see the people there every day; however, they are the people I am around most often. 

Listening posts are also places where you do not have to actively participate in the conversation to gain information about others or events. For example, you may just be doing homework or relaxing, and you can listen in on someone else's conversation. Although this can be referred to as eavesdropping, sometimes you may involuntarily hear a conversation you were not trying to listen to. When I am at home, I usually overhear my parents talking to each other or listen to them talking to someone else on the phone. This is the same no matter where the listening post is located, whether in a residence hall or the cafeteria. 

Listening posts are places where you gather information about other people or learn of news you had not seen yet. They are great places to get to know others and learn about the world around you in a traditional setting. For others, listening posts can be work, public transportation, church, where they live, or even an online group chat. It is simply the place you gain information through others most often.