Channel Button

There are 14 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #2 by Helium's members.

Entertainment   >

Music Genres, Trends & Scenes

MP3s: Wonderful and convenient, but are they fueling a breed of loners?

Over the last thirty years, the development of mobile music listening devices has served to place growing social barriers between people in public places. We have seen the "boombox" and "Walkman" of the 1980's become the "Discman" and the "Minidisc" of the 1990's and welcomed in the new millennium with its "iPods", "Zunes", "Zen"s and all the others. With each new generation of mobile audio media it becomes more commonplace to see herds of people in public with headphones stuck on or in their ears, completely oblivious to the people around them.

I will concede that I do not believe that these devices have lessened the interaction between people and their immediate social group. To the contrary, I would assert that young people simply pay less attention to the music and less attention to each other. They do not seem to limit their social time.

The big difference is witnessing the use of audio devices in crowd settings. Last year, the New York Times ran an article that cited an increase in theft during commuting times on the city's mass transit network. The increase was directly attributed to people being less aware of their surroundings as a result of iPod use. Think of that. People were so oblivious because of the music in their ears that they didn't notice a pickpocket removing their wallet from their person. That kind of separation is certainly a barrier to human communication.

My conclusion is twofold. As a musician and teacher, I mourn the loss of music as a thing to be concentrated on and listened to for so many people. The new paradigm is listening while doing something else. As a person, I mourn the social courtesies that have and will continue to fall by the wayside as people in crowd settings retreat into their own personal worlds of sound. I do not, however, think that the "loner" idea is completely defensible. As I said before, young people and old people simply seem to split their attention between the music and their surroundings affording each a little less scrutiny. If anyone asked me (which they probably never will) I will vociferously connect this practice of splitting attention with the increase in childhood and adult ADD and ADHD. It is contributor to the over-stimulation and lack of mental control that leads to these diagnoses.

And so, in summary, MP3's: maybe not so good for society, but not responsible for "fueling a breed of loners".

Learn more about this author, Eric Drew.
Contact this writer Click here to send this author comments or questions.


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

MP3s: Wonderful and convenient, but are they fueling a breed of loners?

  • 1 of 14

    by Mr. Tommy

    MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 or widely know as MP3s is an audio format that allows compact yet reasonable quality of play for... read more

  • 2 of 14

    by Eric Drew

    Over the last thirty years, the development of mobile music listening devices has served to place growing social barr... read more

  • 3 of 14

    by Evelyn Owen

    Any musical enthusiast, regardless of the genre of music, has one true passion in life to listen to the music they ... read more

  • 4 of 14

    by Bedo Stefan

    It is interesting who we find a reason for every social problem we have, in this case the mp3player. The new breed of... read more

  • 5 of 14

    by E.J. Friedman

    I grew up collecting records and CD's from a very early age. In school, I was always the guy who people asked about n... read more

View All Articles on:
MP3s: Wonderful and convenient, but are they fueling a breed of loners?

Add your voice

Know something about MP3s: Wonderful and convenient, but are they fueling a breed of loners??
We want to hear your view. Write_penWrite now!

What do you know about?
  • Tell us! Get published today.
  • Reach millions.
  • Many ways to earn.
Join Helium Today

Already a member? Log in.

Helium Debate

Cast your vote!

Which is better, vinyl records or CDs?

Click for your side. Must be logged in.

91517

Featured Partner

Chesapeake Service Systems

Chesapeake Service Systems (CSS) has partnered with Helium, giving you the chance to write for a cause. Browse C...more

What is Helium? | User Guide | Community | Link to Helium | Privacy | User agreement | DMCA

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA