iPod WORLD

‘Tis the season. I feel lyrical. So the following text is a direct result of this feeling.

Today on the bus it suddenly caught my eye. We are all brought together, rolled into one, thanks to the advent of the… iPod.

I kid you not. Nowadays, everybody has one. They have it in their pockets, purses, armbands, belts, connected to their computers, to their stereos, in their cars – everywhere. The iPod is all-pervasive, and it works its magic across creed, age, color, nationality, even socio-economic boundaries. Unbelievable. Who would have thought that a tiny little device, androgynous almost in shape and color, and costly, would be all that it is? It symbolizes so many things, it allows for inferences and assumptions and parallels – the beauty of uniformity.

Before any of you out there start thinking that I lost my mind (for real this time) and that this is, purely and simply, an ode to the iPod, let me establish a few things.

Firstly, I am the proud owner of an iPod. Yes, that’s right. After years of living in denial and refusing to succumb to Apple’s magnificent marketing campaign, I finally gave in and got myself a Nano. My love of music, coupled with the increasingly bothersome aspects of international flights (in my case, about 15, 16 hours including layover), recently did the trick. And it worked. I had an excellent time when I flew to Brazil to see my parents this last Thanksgiving, and suddenly the $200+ I paid for the little gadget seemed… nothing (that’s when you know you’ve lost it, by the way).

Secondly, that being said – it is an absurd proposition. Same as with cell phones, by the way. The fact that iPods (and cell phones) are becoming part of our lives in such intrinsic ways denotes maybe a lack of culture, I should say. At the very least, a corruption of culture.

See, this is more than passing fashion, more than a trend. This is serious. At work, those few who have opted for mp3 players other than the Apple progeny have a list of explanations for their decision. We laugh (they as well), because no matter how hard they try, they always sound as if they were defending some radical premise (think Copernicus' heliocentric theory back in the day etc) that no one else can even begin to understand.

The truth is, slowly but surely iPods became the norm. And then, exactly as with cell phones, once they became the norm new ways were created so that they could be personalized. So there you go – first stage, homogenize. Second stage, individualize. Colorful covers, clips, special headphones etc – it is a whole parallel universe that only those who belong to the seemingly exclusive iPod club (but in fact, one which only admittance requirement is the price of the device itself) can experience… Isn’t it interesting? I find it fascinating.

And then the sense of togetherness – that happens when you see a 15-year-old with his iPod on his skateboard on one side of the street, while a 55-year-old is taking his morning walk on the other side. Just think – the 15-year-old grew up in a world of PCs and knows his way around them. The same can hardly be said about the majority of the older population. It is truly remarkable.

This is the world now: a world where language, family roots, tradition, education, religion and ethnicity are increasingly less determinant, increasingly less effective in bringing people together (or apart, depending on the perspective). Access to technology, however, is key. It creates insiders and outsiders (democracy for some, exclusion for others), and is quickly becoming the main shaping factor in our lives.

Well, this is me being lyrical during the holiday season...