I’ve developed a nasty habit recently. A habit that I use to deride in other people not too long ago. A habit I once considered as the primary cause of the decay in today’s society and to illicit the conspiracy theorist in all of us, a habit brought upon by an evil conglomerate in its attempt bring about the downfall of the mighty and powerful. It is a habit people refer to as podding; rather, i-podding.
Since falling prey to the price fall recently, I was seized by the voice of consumerism and purchased my iPod – bought online and bought the mini, of course. And now, my iPod is as synonymous with me as my Tank Francaise; my Dior sunglasses and my Vuitton wallet. It has become an inescapable part of my life and my fight through the voiceless society. It accompanies me to whether I am going: to the doctors, to the dentist, to the café, to the gym and mostly to work. It even has a dedicated place in my bag. I have even sunk so low as to hold conservations while attached to the white umbilical cords and even used the mobile phone simultaneously.
I am feeling thoroughly ashamed of myself right now. I use to mock people who spent their lives attached to electrical appliances and now I am one of them and I don’t know how I can detox myself from it. But I have to admit that there is a certain allure about them. From the sheer size of the music library, it offers the user a near endless supply of karaoke tunes. It also offers the user a sense of protection from the evils of society, cocooning the user into a mental bubble offering a haven to ponder one’s thoughts and emotions. It is basically a device that isolates the person from the homogeneity of society – what is playing on my iPod is for my ears only. Without the iPod, we are forced to listen to what is presently happening: the monotonous droning of the train, the scamper of feet across the pavement, the screams of fear and terror, the preachings of sidewalk morons, the blaring of ghetto music from hideous cars. The iPod offers us a chance to escape the people we don’t like and the opportunity to pretend that we are so fully engrossed in the music that we fail to make idle conversation and that pulling out the earphones mid-track is a mortal sin. It allows the iPodder to escape all of that and to become the master of their own aural pleasures.
Paradoxically, the iPod is also one the things that brings groups of people together while isolating the user from the rest of society. The other day, my train was running late so I stood on the station plugged into my iPod. Not wanting to stand for the next hour, I moved down to the end of the platform to hedge my chances of getting a seat. So when my train arrived, I found myself sitting in the corner of the train, in that seat that forces you look at the person in front of you. And between the six of us, all them strangers, each took out their little white earphones and proceeded to enter their cocoon. For a moment, we all looked at each other and I felt something that I haven’t felt in a long time. Ignoring the rubbing of the fat man that was sitting next to me, I felt a sense of belonging and judging by the looks in the other’s eyes, I think they felt the same. We felt connected, lost souls brought together by a late running train and the magic of technology. And connected we were to the iPods.
posted by tykang @ 6/23/2005 02:22:00 PM
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