How ipod changed society

"The iPod is the first cultural icon of the 21st century. There is nothing else like it in terms of the mix of style, functionality and consumer desire. The technology is appealing because it can be programmed very quickly and easily.”

----------Dr Michael Bull

"Without music, life would be a mistake."
----------Friedrich Nietzsche
“For every advantage a new technology offers, there isalways a corresponding disadvantage.”

----------Neil Postman [3]









IPod, how it changes our perspective of music and how it affects the society.













Carlos Llosa

EGR 102

Profesor

09/07/2011

During the past years, many people have acquired new devices with which you can load your music, videos, pictures, etc. One of the best known devicesin this competition are the iPods. iPods are small, affordable, and have a large memory capacity. With some versions, you can even surf the web, watch You Tube videos, or check your Facebook page. These products are probably the invention of the decade, but many people are not comfortable with them because of the effects they have on society.
According to www.itunes.com, there is an average of 21songs legally downloaded on every iPod, while the maximum number of songs that the iPod with the least memory can carry is 500. The maximum number of songs that the iPod with the most memory can carry is 50,000. Some professionals say that there is no way to eliminate illegal music from iPods, since the internet is full of illegal music. This would be like expecting people not to touch walletsfull of cash that are dropped in the streets. Some iPods can store up to 50,000 songs, how many people are willing to pay $50,000 in filling their iPods? Downloading music without paying for it is totally illegal and is considered theft, but people do not care about this until they get a letter that states that they are being sued. There is an overwhelming increase in illegal downloaded music inthe past years because iPod makes it possible and easy to store music and because there is no way iTunes can know where your music comes from. Some people even say that the iPod promotes stealing music via sharing systems, such as “Lime Wire” or “Ares.” It is obvious that there is a strong relationship between the number of iPods sold and the easy ways to fill them up with music. This has an impactin the way we perceive music. Our parents used to save money in order to buy the new disc of “The Beatles” or “AC/DC,” and now everybody can make and sell music with a computer. This is not done only by means of illegal music, but also affects the way people see music itself.
In the past, a trip to the music store required a purchase of the whole album. Buying specific titles of iTunes hasgreatly affected the way music is perceived in society.
There is also the question about the value of an iPod to society. How does it help or hinder society? IPods are not only affecting people in a social way, but also physically. Listening to music too loudly with headphones may harm or diminish your hearing; it could even break your eardrums and leave you deaf. This means that people willspend more money on doctors because of the useful iPod. Does society want to do this? Can it afford it? It is also important to consider that people are having more accidents because they are driving cars, riding bikes, or walking with earphones. Is society ready to live with thousands of new deaf people?
According to Michael Bull, author of “Sound Moves: iPod Culture and Urban Experience” andprofessor at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom [1], “It [the iPod] gives people totally private worlds. Personal stereos reflect a cultural drift. There's a long history of individualized listening -- kids with stereos in their bedrooms, for example. In the '20s people listened to radios with headphones .… I think music has become more personal, the music on their personal stereos was...