I guess I knew it would happen eventually, but I didn’t think it would be this soon. Over Christmas, I became one of the pod people. Since its launch in 2001, I have maintained a level of sub-par enthusiasm at the thought of owning an iPod. In the beginning, I suppose it was a financial decision, ut over the years I have developed a few personal qualms with Apple’s little music-maker. For starters, although iPod’s are terribly convenient, they can cause their users to be intolerably anti-social. Everywhere you look, people young and old are accompanied by one similar accessory: skinny
little white headphones that have now become iconic of Apple’s iPod. One glaring accessory that is missing from these same music-loving people, however, is the presence of another person with them.
In a culture where innovations in technology are a daily occurrence, isn’t it ironic that levels of communication seem to be on a decline? Most of us would rather write an e-mailthan a letter. We’d rather chat on MSN than catch up in person. We stalk people on Facebook, yet might never make eye contact with those same people in a chance meeting. Now iPod users unanimously accept the opportunity to drown out the sounds of our everyday world. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Having the power to evade traffic noise, screaming children and basically any unpleasant clamour you wish to avoid? The downside to this, of course, is that along with that noisy guy on a cell phone, you might also be missing someone saying hello to you, or what’s worse, failing to hear that car that’s about to it you as you jaywalk on campus.
For many, iPods are more than just an MP3 player, they become an extension of one’s self. With this easily operated and aesthetically pleasing device, anyone can create a soundtrack to their life. The act of listening has been scientifically proven to have both physical and emotional effects, and by listening to music that can match or change one’s mood, iPods have allowed individuals to have control over heir personal environment. Nonetheless, “individual” is the word to keep in mind when considering pop culture, or rather, pod culture. In today’s society, the expression “two peas in a pod” seems to have been reformulated to reference a person and their iPod, as this device is thin enough to slip into
any pocket and follow its user anywhere he or she goes. What ensues is the creation of an impermeable personal sphere, which is perhaps what consumers are, in the end, ultimately looking
for. It is, after all, called an iPod, and not awePod.
Whatever your reason, iPod ownership ensures that everyone knows you are on the cusp of the most revolutionary and relevant technology today; what’s more, you are a lover of music. I personally hope I’ll always prefer the comfort of hearing a friend say hello on the street to the convenience of music you can rock out to while you walk home. Then again, to each their own pod.
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