I-Pods: The death of socialization

With more and more people owning an I-pod these days’ people are becoming less and less social. Public transport is the perfect example of this. When you get on a bus or a train or even a plane no talks to anyone anymore, everybody is listening to their I-pod. Silence and heads turned down focused on one thing the I-pod is the only thing one can see on public transport. No one ever talks to friend or perfect stranger anymore; they just listen to their music and ignore everything else.
Groups of friends will board a train and put their earphones in and listen to their favourite music for the whole trip. They don’t talk to each other discuss things such as what going on with their lives or what’s happening in the world. They just listen. I find this rather sad as making connections with other people widen our points of view and broaden how we relate to others. With the invention of the I-pod we interact less and less with others and we become more involved in our world and not the world at large.
People are slowly moving away from each other and hiding themselves in a word of new media. With the invention of the I-pod and other mp3 players it is easier for people to hide themselves because it has become the norm these days. It is no longer anti-social to sit and listen to music instead of talking to friends or others in general.
Slowly and surely new media and inventions such as the I-pod have helped with the decline of public socialisation before we know it we will not be communicating with anyone except the new media.

Cell phones: The Evolution of Communication, Introduction

From their introduction into human social spheres years ago, to their present condition, one can assume that those who invented the ‘cell phone’ never expected it to evolve into the technological phenomena that it is today.
Yes, the word “phenomena” can be viewed to be extreme in describing this tool of communication, but it is undoubtedly appropriate. The cell phone has become ubiquitous, in that it is widely present in society today.

The main purpose of the cell phone was to enable users to have a more convenient way of communicating with people, thus providing portable telecommunication, or what we call ‘on the go’ communication. However, this has dramatically changed over the years. The cell phone not only provides a means of telecommunication, its ‘technological evolution’ has made it so much more. In its comprehensive list of functions the cell phone now provides its users with: telecommunication; internet connectivity; radio streaming; music playback (similar to that of the I-pod); digital camera features; video recording and reception. They also conduct similar functions to that of the PDA (personal digital assistant). Convergence of different technologies has caused the cellular phone to become a multimedia device. Some mobiles can even be described as ‘smart phones’!

The shift in the services and functions of the cell phone has brought with it several social implications. One implication is that certain groups in society believe they cause “public disturbance” due to their use without the use of correct etiquette. Another social implication of the cell phone is the introduction by governments in forming mobile phone laws which include bans on cell phone usage whilst driving. These bans show how vastly cell phones have penetrated the lives of people and thus that they must be regulated. The cellular phone has provided continuous social connectivity, in that one can now be in touch with friends and loved ones more easily and affordably. We can, send and check our email anytime and anywhere; send a text message via SMS (short message service); use instant messaging or simply make a call. Cell phones are sometimes seen as fashion accessories especially in adolescent circles. It has also been argued that cell phones may have privacy issues as they can gather intimate data about us, to the extent that hackers can find out a great deal about us and our communication channels. They have changed the way people budget and spend their money. Cell phone bills are now included in their budgets, thus having economic implications as well.

The argument above has shown how the mobile phone has penetrated every facet of the social world. Its impact on the way we communicate is just beginning. Years from now this generation will marvel at its unimaginable metamorphosis! The cellular phone…a modern day phenomenon! Is this statement really true or an exaggeration of fact?