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Professor iPod Discusses Device's Social Impact
PurdueGraphicsMan writes "There's an interesting story over at Wired News, involving an interview with UK university professor Dr. Michael Bull, apparently the 'world's leading expert on the social impact of personal stereo devices,' according to The New York Times. The piece also mentions: 'Bull, a lecturer in media and culture at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, is the author of 'Sounding out the City: Personal Stereos and the Management of Everyday Life', a book Bull calls the 'definitive treatment' of the impact of the Sony Walkman and its descendants.'"
Dr. Bull's work reminds me of Sweden's social engineering efforts. How we use something, how far do we go to utilize the device(s), etc.
Dr. Bull says, "It gives people totally private worlds." While that may be true, it also removes people from social interaction, which is vital for mental health.
"There's a lot of studies in the literature that demonstrate with the urban space, the more it's inhabited, the safer you feel. You feel safe if you can feel people there, but you don't want to interact with them."
When I use my iPod in public, I often realize that by avoiding that interaction, I may feel more 'safe' but I am also missing out. Usually I take my iPod headphones out when I'm in a situation where I could interact with people. I like my music, but I think the sense of security is very false.
Whether it's intuition or hard research, more often than not Apple gets it right. The other computer companies usually go for "good enough" and as cheap as they can make it, and that got them market share but not that much loyalty. Now that the computer companies are being forced by reduced margins into the consumer electronic space, they are going to be faced with a different mindset. People who buy electronic widgets do not say, "Hey, who cares if it's a beige box, I don't care what it looks like, I just want cheap!" Instead people want stereos and televisions and DVD players that have quality features and look good with the rest of their stuff. Low price works to some degree here, but high-end does quite well too.
Apple has been there all along. There's a reason Apple users tend to be loyal despite the occasional hiccups from Apple and historically higher margins: They get it right. And boy does that matter in the consumer electronic marketplace. For proof of that, just walk around any large city and count the iPods. They got it right.
Social interaction is vital, but it's not all mentally healthy. I used to be a regular bus commuter, and I was forced to interact with all kinds of people on the bus and at the bus stop, many of whom were unpleasant to be forced into close proximity.
A good Walkman was *vital* for my mental health.
And when I was in college walking to/from class or wherever, a good walkman made the walk more enjoyable. It's not like I was going to have a social interaction with 99.9999% of the strangers I walked past in the first place.
Under normal use, the battery has no problems. Under heavy usage situations, battery life can decline (as is also the case with most phones, PDAs, laptops, and anything else with a non-replacable lithium battery). Apple offers a battery-replacement service for $99, or you can do it yourself for half the price. Battery replacement is also covered by AppleCare. I fail to see where this is an issue,unless you think that Apple should wave a magic wand and create a perfect battery, or that iPods should be enlarged to make rare battery replacements more convenient.
It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
I feel the need to mention that (a) anecdotal evidence like this is prima facie absurd since by definition it is a non-representative sample, and (b) i, my father, sister and several of my friends all have iPods, and none have had any problems so for whatever specious value you attribute to your anecdote, my anecdote must even it out.
"Stumble before you crawl"
As far as "social isolation" goes, the iPod is not really any different than any other personal stereo device made in the past 20 years. Long before I had an iPod, I had a personal cassette player, a personal radio, a personal CD player, and yes, even a Rio 500. The iPod is better in the sense that it stores my entire CD collection. That fact sells iPods, but doesn't change the social relationship of the device.
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
What the hell are they doing with them? Throwing them against a wall?
I've had my iPod for over a year and it's been working fine. I've had a couple of "oh no" moments when it made a short fall to the floor (2 feet or so), but it's been running fine. And I get excellent battery life.
Please enlighten me, what's so different between an iPod and Discman, MD player or a shitty RCA mp3 player from RadioShak ? We get all those articles about how iPod changes social relationships and such. Take the article about some people plugging their headphones into other people's iPods. What is so different about iPod that it deserves that much attention and an article ? I am sure many people did that before iPod, in the era of MD player and Discman. Now this article. What is the point here ? That iPod is somehow special and turns people into musicheads ? How is that different than me listening to $10 AM/FM radio on the bus ? Bullshit I say.
I punched a baby once.
it's not so often i come across people singing in the pubs anymore. old fellows, sure, but it's not so wide spread. Playing instruments, reading, even real conversations are being sweapt aside for game boy, iPod, and mobile phones.
It used to be only doctors had pagers and cellphones. now every schmuck in the world has them and they use them all the time with total disregard for those around them.
screw reading the newspaper on my morning metro ride! I'm going to lsiten to my iPod and chat on AIM via my mobile phone!!
and people wonder why the younger generation gets stupider and stupider. It may have a lot to do with hippie pot smoking parents, but i think the widespread use of mind numbing electionic devices is more responsible.
they do make excellent substitutes for actually raising your kids though.
Good for you! However, I've got 4000 CD quality songs on my 4.1 x 2.4 x .62" iPod with tracking of my favorite songs, play counts, custom playlists without re-burning CDs. It works WAY better for my needs than your CD MP3 player, so $400 is not too much for all those functions. If you want to bring all your contacts with you and transfer files between sites using firewire or USB 2.0, there's even more reason.
It's always a favorite thing of anti-iPod folks to say that it's only a "personal radio", but you sound like my Dad bitching at me when I was 15 for liking that "new-fangled acid rock". A bit outta touch....
Zed's dead baby. Zed's dead.
This guy's got hit the nail right on the head. Mind you, i've seen a couple people with them, most of the time, this is based on assumptions, just because I see the white headphones. I also know 2 people who own them. However, I see at least 1/3 of people in the 16-30 age bracket with some form of personal music device. 80% of them are CD players. And nobody goes on and raves about the social impacts of these things.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
ok....so he's been at it for three years, going on four now.
The point the first poster was trying to make is be wary of folks that are called "experts" on topics like this.
Academia has a strange way of annoiting people with "expert" titles for things. You'd be shocked how many of these so called "experts" are bluffing their way through. I'm not saying their ALL like that, but seriously, there are a lot. I mean really, look at the guy they refer to. He's been at it for THREE YEARS. There are other people that have been at this for much longer, who are likely more worthy of the title "expert".
Those of you with jobs at universities will know what I'm talking about.