In Sound Moves: iPod Culture and Urban Experience, by Michael Bull, the author examines the impact of iPods on current urban culture and social interactions. He examines the effect the iPod has on interpersonal relations as well as the relationship between the user and the environment in which the user experiences this medium. The main point that Bull seems to emphasize throughout his book is the privatization of public space (4) that iPod users are now in control of. People are no longer forced to listen to the sounds of the city or of other people in public domains such as sidewalks and subways because they can now immerse themselves in their own personal soundtracks to accompany their everyday lives.
I liked the point that Bull makes when he emphasizes that the iPod allows people to see the outside urban environment in different ways according to what kind of music they are playing at the moment. As Kracauer claims, “The world’s ugliness goes unnoticed” (45) as people allow their iPods to mediate the reality of the world in front of them and how they perceive that reality.
However, the point in Bull’s book that I found to be the most disturbing was the point that people are more likely to “withdraw from the world in which they move” (36) into their own personal worlds and use iPod’s as a proverbial cloak of invisibility during everyday activities. For example, a man named Ivan proclaims that he is more likely to avoid the annoyance of homeless people asking him for money when he has his iPod playing (34). Not only can he not hear them, but the fact that he has the white earbuds in his ears sends an outward signal to those homeless people that they should not waste their time asking him for money because he will not direct his full attention to them. Additionally, a woman named Amanda exclaims that the iPod provides a socially acceptable excuse for her to ignore acknowledging and talking to people that she doesn’t want to interact with. She thinks that it is acceptable because “people think I can’t hear them because of my music instead of me just ignoring them on purpose.” (58) Amanda’s quote emphasizes the fact that other people aren’t worthy of her full attention or even attention at all since she chooses to ignore their existence altogether in favor of listening to her iPod.
Essentially, the use of iPods make for many happy individuals that are able to tolerate each other while they share the same public space at the same time. What do these sort of behaviors emerging from iPod use say about the way we are headed in the future in terms of interpersonal interactions? Will this privatization of public space inhibit the way we interact with other people face to face? Will this sense of individualism harm any social connections that we may make with others in a public setting? Do you think the iPod enhances the way we interact with our environment or hinders the amount of interaction we have with others in public places?
1 comment:
I found Leslie’s point very interesting when she mentions that although iPods can make individuals happier, the public community may be harmed by the privatization of the public sphere. On one hand, I can see how iPods can positively affect individual lives during their daily routine. Listening to music during daily tasks or on walks can enhance someone’s mood and make them more aware of what is going on around them. The mood the music creates is reflected in what the person sees when they are listening to it. While writing this post I am actually listening to my iPod. My music is making this paper easier to write, because I am able to pair a typical weekly task with music that enhances my mood. However, I do think the implications of people living in their own individual worlds when in public has negative affects on real communities. Even though the use of iPods can, in their own way, create a collective community of iPod listeners, this imagined community should not replace human contact and interaction. Although listening to music can enhance mood I think people often overlook the value of talking to others and the enhancement of mood when you do something nice for someone else. The iPod is a quick fix to brighten someone’s mood and requires little effort. Talking to someone and forming relationships takes work, but offers a much more rewarding experience to most people. In the culture of our society, people do not have time to talk to other’s because they are busy living their own lives. I am not sure whether iPods are affecting the culture or the iPod is a result of an already individualized culture. Either way iPods make it easier to ignore community which helps drive our already individualized culture.
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