JMU is generally known as a friendly campus. As prospective students traverse the grounds, they no doubt take notice of the community atmosphere. However, the friendliness is now on the decline due to an increased use of iPods.
While the iPod rivals the wolverine in its power per pound, the fact that the general population has grafted the wallet-sized jukebox to their beings has made the opportunity for spontaneous conversation nearly non-existent. Riding on the bus used to be a time to meet new people and exchange casual remarks on subjects ranging from the D-hall menu to whether you actually did just see a guy on a unicycle peddle by. Now, the ever-present white earphones end conversations before they start. Occasionally, you come across that certain someone who will be courteous enough to remove one of the earphones to talk. But the question that arises is if that technologically chivalrous individual is paying true attention to your concern of whether or not “The Apprentice” will return for another season, or is tuning you out in favor of Ludacris blasting in the other ear.
iPods also create a threat to safety, beyond simply alienating strangers. The issue of driving and talking on cell phones is continuously being examined by government officials, but the safety of driving with an iPod has yet to be questioned; but there really is no distinction between the two. Both provide distractions for the driver, perhaps the iPod even more so. The option of hooking up an iPod to the car’s stereo system is there, although you still need to look at the iPod to select songs, and while it is illegal to drive with headphones on, many can be seen favoring the iPod to their tape deck or CD player.
As if cell phones and iPods were not enough of a diversion separately, it is not uncommon to see students using both. Sure, we were given two ears and the intelligence to multitask, but there is something to be said for giving your brain a rest and choosing one or the other.
While at this point these issues are somewhat trivial and only borderline annoying, what does the future hold? As the iPod gets smaller and smaller, it is more and more likely that Americans will never leave home without one. Though this does kill the boredom associated with walking from one place to another and drowns out supermarket Muzak, we still live in a society with some basis in common courtesy and that values human interaction. Just as with the invention of the cell phone, we need to create an accepted code of conduct with the iPod. It is important to know when it is appropriate, and when you should take it off to actually pay attention to the eulogy.
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