Don't Worry, iOwn One Too
It’s certainly easier to carry around a small white rectangle than a case containing two hundred albums. As someone who drops things on a regular basis, I can appreciate a product that isn’t rendered useless when it gets scratched. What I cannot support is another means of cutting oneself off from the world and the rest of humanity. Urbanization has already made being yet another nameless face in a crowd an easy task; do we really need iPods to further our disengagement?
It is a decidedly awkward feeling to shout across the quad at a friend and receive no response. The anguish is not eased upon realizing that the reason I wasn’t heard is that this friend would rather spend the time between classes have a one-way conversation with Chris Martin. The true amazement occurs when someone less than five feet away completely misses a hearty wave and enthusiastic greeting because of the music currently demanding the full attention of their sensory capacities. The fact that some of my peers would rather listen to “Hollaback Girl” than interact with their fellow students is, in short, enough to drive me bananas.
I don’t mean for it to sound as if I’m summarily dismissing the iPod as Death’s chosen accessory. We are at a music school, after all. Homework has forced me to spend plenty of afternoons withdrawn from mankind with a book in my hand. Maybe some of these iPod bearers are actually listening to a song they have to perform in a few hours or analyzing a raw mix one last time before a mastering session. Perhaps school would be simpler if I walked around campus listening to audiobook versions of my reading assignments. It seems to me, however, that such an approach would end up hampering both study and social life. If an especially earnest comrade waved vehemently enough to attract my attention, the distraction would doubtlessly cause me to miss a few words of the assignment. My grasp on the plot could be thoroughly shaken. Meanwhile, any interaction with that friend would be marred by his or her concern that he or she had disturbed my listening. That assumes, of course, that I was willing to drop the ear buds long enough to carry on a conversation.
The first six years of the twenty-first century have yielded great technological advancement, and it’s up to us whether the resulting products will be beneficial or just another excuse for irresponsibility. Cell phones can provide a much-needed means of communication in life-threatening situations, or they can allow us to text our way through a class lecture. I long for the days when you actually had to exchange subtle remarks with the person next to you to stem the boredom. The internet gives us easy access to important information and another way to keep in touch with friends. It also gives us the opportunity to shop, entertain ourselves, and converse with those we already know without stepping into the world outside and expanding our connections. In such a world, will the iPod be a worthwhile innovation, or will it fall victim to our extraordinary lack of restraint? There are people out there to be met, knowledge to be discovered, and friendships to be deepened. There is also a time and place for song in all of it, but be careful not to neglect everything else for the sake of a soundtrack. It’s your prerogative if you would rather turn the music up a little and walk to class in your own carefully orchestrated universe of sound. But if you can’t hear the first words of your grandchildren forty years from now, don’t raise your voice to me."
It is a decidedly awkward feeling to shout across the quad at a friend and receive no response. The anguish is not eased upon realizing that the reason I wasn’t heard is that this friend would rather spend the time between classes have a one-way conversation with Chris Martin. The true amazement occurs when someone less than five feet away completely misses a hearty wave and enthusiastic greeting because of the music currently demanding the full attention of their sensory capacities. The fact that some of my peers would rather listen to “Hollaback Girl” than interact with their fellow students is, in short, enough to drive me bananas.
I don’t mean for it to sound as if I’m summarily dismissing the iPod as Death’s chosen accessory. We are at a music school, after all. Homework has forced me to spend plenty of afternoons withdrawn from mankind with a book in my hand. Maybe some of these iPod bearers are actually listening to a song they have to perform in a few hours or analyzing a raw mix one last time before a mastering session. Perhaps school would be simpler if I walked around campus listening to audiobook versions of my reading assignments. It seems to me, however, that such an approach would end up hampering both study and social life. If an especially earnest comrade waved vehemently enough to attract my attention, the distraction would doubtlessly cause me to miss a few words of the assignment. My grasp on the plot could be thoroughly shaken. Meanwhile, any interaction with that friend would be marred by his or her concern that he or she had disturbed my listening. That assumes, of course, that I was willing to drop the ear buds long enough to carry on a conversation.
The first six years of the twenty-first century have yielded great technological advancement, and it’s up to us whether the resulting products will be beneficial or just another excuse for irresponsibility. Cell phones can provide a much-needed means of communication in life-threatening situations, or they can allow us to text our way through a class lecture. I long for the days when you actually had to exchange subtle remarks with the person next to you to stem the boredom. The internet gives us easy access to important information and another way to keep in touch with friends. It also gives us the opportunity to shop, entertain ourselves, and converse with those we already know without stepping into the world outside and expanding our connections. In such a world, will the iPod be a worthwhile innovation, or will it fall victim to our extraordinary lack of restraint? There are people out there to be met, knowledge to be discovered, and friendships to be deepened. There is also a time and place for song in all of it, but be careful not to neglect everything else for the sake of a soundtrack. It’s your prerogative if you would rather turn the music up a little and walk to class in your own carefully orchestrated universe of sound. But if you can’t hear the first words of your grandchildren forty years from now, don’t raise your voice to me."