Ipod Nation
A look at the iPod generation.
Society is technology driven and we are constantly in search of the newest gadget or gizmo. Of course, we can accredit much of today’s advances in healthcare, information sharing, and entrepreneurship to technology advancement, but what about the abatement that technology begets. Many people never stop to think about what all humanity misses out on when they utilize the ease and comfort associated with technology.
Let’s look at portable media players, like iPod, for example. Yes, the iPod has modernized the way we listen to music. The software enables a person to transfer, download, etc music into the portable and compact iPod. There are music service companies that offer downloads for 89 cents per song. At this price, and with sharing capabilities, all of your favorite music is literally at your fingertips. There is no need to ever listen to the radio, when you have all of your favorites on hand. It’s great because the technology allows cheap, tailored, and convenient music entertainment.
However, many people never stop to think about what is missed when we utilize this technology? Twenty years ago, music entertainment was a lot different. There were tape cassette players, but the tapes were expensive. As a teenager, I had a few tapes, but nothing near the thousands of songs collected on most teenagers iPod’s today. After growing tired of listening to my tape collection, I would switch to the radio. When I was in the car with my parents, for more than an hour, I would grow tired of listening to the only tape that I had room to bring. Therefore, I would take off the headphones and listen to whatever they were listening to on the radio. This radio time expanded my horizons beyond the “now popular music,” that I normally listened to. I discovered that not all the music my parents listened to was bad. There is no way that I would ever have grown to love Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, etc.., if I was not forced to listen out of boredom with my own music. I had to use my imagination to find the beauty in other styles and genres of music. The iPod takes this scenario away. It limit’s the user to only listening to what they initially like and takes any other horizon away. So, while it may add cheap convenience, it also promotes limited imagination and variety. I believe there is a time, place and need for moderation in all things. The iPod is not an exception to my thought.
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User Comments
valli
On September 30, 2008 at 11:03 am
Thanks for sharing the info, Jo.
Lauren Axelrod
On September 30, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Y9ou know, I don’t even own an ipod. I figured technology is always changing so I would wait for the next installment. Interesting
Anne Lyken-Garner
On October 1, 2008 at 5:42 am
This is an interesting and thoughtful commentary.
Nope
On October 1, 2008 at 9:06 am
I don’t think this is a function of the iPod, but more how you choose to use it.
I have an 80GB iPod with around 10K songs on it. Perhaps half of these are tunes I’ve ripped or bought (”my music”); the rest is mainly music that friends have recommended and passed on to me*, the remainder being stuff that I’ve bought after hearing the artist on the radio.
With the kind of storage that MP3 players offer, you can afford to fill some of it with stuff you MIGHT like.
I’m not knocking radio, but recommendations from people you know (who are not necessarily people with similar taste in music) are more likely to unearth new gems than the same old top 40 playlists you hear on most commercial radio stations. To suggest that listening to an iPod limits your exposure to new music does seem to presuppose that you listen only to YOUR music on YOUR MP3 player. If that’s the case, fair enough and good luck to you, but that’s not the technology that’s limiting your exposure, that’s you. Get out, go to a few gigs, festivals, whatever. Let your friends play DJ next time you meet up.
One thing I would say about my iPod habit, though, is that I tend to listen less to albums than I used to, preferring most of the time to leave it on shuffle.
* Yeah, I know this is strictly speaking ‘very naughty’, but we’re not talking about mass copying from torrents here – we’re talking about a circle of friends swapping songs or albums here or there in much the same way as everyone (yes, everyone) of my generation did for years with cassettes. Anyway, let’s not get into that boring debate again here, just mark it as noted.
jo oliver
On October 1, 2008 at 11:35 am
Thank you all for the comments.
Nope- I am not saying that everyone uses their ipod to only listen to their own music. I am not saying that it is the iPod at fault. I am saying that the iPod is one PART of a GREATER problem facing generations growing up with more and more advanced tech……imagination! Video games, iPods, computers, cell phones, television, etc…. all contribute to smoothering imagination. Of course, I am not saying that these things should be banished. As I stated in my story -all things in moderation….time and place for everything.
Thank you for adding to my article!
girl who is crying in the corner of the room!
On February 24, 2009 at 11:55 am
i used to LOVEEE my ipod untill.. one day i went to this
thenn i made her crawl down and get it (mwahaha i know im evil!) so then she comes out wit it in herr hands and well.. u guessed it IT WAS BROKEN!! soo then later in the week i drive to the little ipod storey thingy and the IPOD GEEK WAS LIKE U CANT RETURN THIS! AHH ISNT THIS LIKE SOO MEAN OF HIM!
AH-MAZINGG concert and i got this guy from a band (i set my friends on fire) to sign it!! and thats not even the worst part.. okayy so after the concert im like walking home with my friend Macy and she pushed me sooo hard my ipod went FLYIN THROUGHH THE AIRRR. then it landed in the street drain
a dirty macy NOT FUN
On February 25, 2009 at 11:53 am
omg u were so mean to make me get it…im still trying to get the mud and grosss stuff out of my hair
gosh some friend JK i luv u lol ok but yea 2 bad they wont let u return it sucksss for u lol but dont worry u can always use mine HA since we do like the same music…CASH CASH, NSN, la la la and tons more….ok i gtg ok and next time u r gonna push me in the drain im gonna cover my ears and say LA LA I CANT HEAR U and i cant believe u wrote this on the internet lol later girly
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