small object, LARGE SUBJECT

Look at what iPod’s have done to our culture. People constantly walking around with stubs in their ears, blocking out the outside world. Frequent iPod users can hardly do any activities without their music. However, what these users crave isn't the music, it's the distraction from whatever activity their obligated to do. Apple has caused people to become so dependent on iPod’s that they simply cannot continue doing activities such as exercising or cleaning without them. People do not want to be concentrated on these kinds of activities so they just hit play and out goes their concentration.

iPod’s are not only the most updated mp3 player, they are also cameras and video cameras. You can play games and even browse the web if you have the highest of them all, “the iPod Touch”. Apple's advertisements show the great quality of their products and are very appealing too many. With the bright colors and funky music it is no question that it will catch your eye. iPod's allow people to be creative and pick and choose songs from different CD's and genres to create their perfect playlist. If you are caught dead with anything other than an iPod people's heads may turn.

I have found it quite interesting that people can't function without their iPod. Everyday I see hundreds of students walking to class with buds in their ears. What ever happened to enjoying your time alone to allow your mind to think? What ever happened to making conversation with people? Instead people just keep to themselves and put themselves in their own little musical world. Even students during class blast their music to drain out a professor’s voice! I mean really how rude can we get? What happened to involvement and socializing?

As soon as my boyfriend gets out of the shower he walks over to his iHome and turns on his music. He can literately not get dressed or put away clothes without music playing. Why? In the end he just ends up dancing and taking double the time to finish what he's doing! It all goes back to DISTRACTION. People love to be distracted. People love to procrastinate. No one wants to run or clean, so why not put on their iPod so they don't have to think about it? This idea is very similar to Nicholas Carr's idea that technology has made us stupid and we cannot even sit still long enough to read an essay. As we have seen, apple and their iPods contribute to that as well. Both technological creations have influenced our attention span in a negative way. iPod creators assume that everyone needs to be distracted and everyone will want to have a iPod so they can constantly have their own little escape in their pockets. I personally never even use my iPod but hey, it's working for everyone else isn't it?