On the Function of iPods
My esteemed colleague, and sister, Elspeth, has written a blog entry on iPods (though really, it’s about personal media devices in general) that takes a fairly negative view of the culture that surronds them:
…it didn’t take me long to figure out why ipods have become so popular. When you have ipod in, its[sic] very difficult to hear anything that’s going on around you. The music seems to go right though your head. Its completely different form[sic] just listening to a radio. You quickly enter your own little world. It’s easy to block out everything and everybody around you. It soon becomes all about you. Nothing else really matters. It is kind of hard to describe but if you have a i-pod[sic] you know what I mean. For those you do not believe in God. It has become a way to block out all of their problems. When depressed or troubled people now have something to run to-their ipod. But unlike faith in God a ipod only lasts for a few hours at the most. While faith in God lasts for entirety.
and again:
Consent[sic] i-pod usage is accepted from teens today because teens are not expected to act like adults now but after forming this habit it’s going to be really hard to stop. And just like a lot of other habits most people aren’t going to quite[sic]. So in ten years from now don’t be surprised to see clerk’s[sic] in stores and secretaries in offices “plugged in”
I must confess that I didn’t really expect a different reaction from my sister (we are, after all, family, and have discussed this at length previously). However, I still think it fundementally misses the point in a way. Yes, iPods can be used to cut yourself off from the world in a completely ungodly way. Nevertheless, this is not the way that most people I meet use them. Most of the people I know, both in and out of college who use an iPod or similar device are using it for one thing: “sunglasses for the ears”.
In other words, they are using the iPod to avoid having to overhear conversations that are becoming increasingly more common on the buses and sidewalks of our metropolises. Conversations that run the gamut from someone arguing loudly with debt collectors, to conversations about the night of passion they expect to experience (yes, I’ve encountered both of these on the bus).
In addition, they provide a way of focusing on your current pursuit in a way that nothing else really can. I use this to great benefit when I program — without my iPod, I’m continually distracted by co-workers, etc. and find it extremely hard to focus. With it on, I can power through several hours of programming with it seeming like seconds to me, and actually acheive things. Some of my friends use it in a similar way when they excercise (i.e. jogging around the park, etc.) because it allows them to focus on the music as opposed to how much their body is hurting or straining.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that my esteemed colleague’s methodology was flawed, and her review seems to consist of her projecting her own attitudes onto all iPod users, then fitting the data to the hypothesis. This just makes for plain bad science.
I look forward to her response/rebuttal.
