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MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 or widely know as MP3s is an audio format that allows compact yet reasonable quality of play for people to enjoy music from. Players range from hand held to pocket-size and even our mobile phones. The ease of usage and the clarity of the songs has allowed many to enjoy great music from their school and even their work place. Yet, such a situation is indeed breeding a group of loners that indulge in their own world of tunes and ignore the world around them. For the point of this article, i would define loners as people who do not actively participate or totally exclude themselves from social activities and become confine to their own world.

Firstly, MP3s are convenient to bring around. Most commonly seen are your Apple Ipods and Nokia or Sony Ericsson mobile phones. All you need is a head phone , you plug it in, and you're in your own world of music. You get to choose your kind of music, the genre, the speed of play, the album and specifically the song of choice. You create your unique playlist for your activities and you simply let the gadget control what songs you will be listening throughout the day. It allows you to have the freedom to roam through many fields and brings your kind of taste into the small gadget. Yet, as everyone tries to define themselves, people start to become self-centered on the kind of music they want to define themselves with. They exclude themselves from the groups of people who do not know how to appreciate a certain kind of music, which he might be highly interested in. As music defines people and people define music. Those in love with hip-hop might have the beat in them and those who prefer classical music might have a slower pace of life. In such, it causes the gap amongst people that causes the split between a social life to a loners life.

Secondly, MP3s have been turned into excuses to block of the outside world and close oneself into his own world. Evident from trips to the library, teenagers and even for some adults, hang their head phones over them and read at the same time. They seem to give the "keep away from me" feel, and people would then to abstain from disturbing. These sense of unfriendliness causes people to avoid peer contact which will soon cause the special breed of MP3 loners. It might not be serious initially. Yet as time goes on and as human contact lessens, such a disparity would soon be evident.

In conclusion, MP3s convenience and perfectness might just be the source of destruction of human contact and interaction. MP3 loners, who indulge in personal space and comfort do not see the potential lost they may face and may soon fall into the pits of never return of becoming a loner. Therefore i would say it does breed a special breed of MP3 loners.

Learn more about this author, Tommy Koh.
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