And then I turned into a dancing silhouette

I was riding the subway train the other day and it was unusually crowded.  This meant that, instead of sitting down and getting lost in my book, I was standing and looking around the car as a diversion.  What I noticed was particularly interesting.

About 1/3 of the people on the car (that’s my guesstimate, anyway,) were listening to an iPod.  (You have to hand it to Apple – those little white earbuds may not be the best when it comes to sound quality, but they’re so recognizable that you know instantly when somebody has one.)  I had actually thought of putting mine on as well, but I find that I have to turn the volume up so high on the subway that it’s not a good idea.

Something about that realization definitely gave me pause, but it’s hard to put my finger on what it was.  I guess MP3 players have become a standard accessory for many people these days, and it’s not really anyone’s fault that Apple has such a dominant share of that market, but the whole thing felt a little “1984,” to be honest.  Everybody began to look a lot alike, all similarly plugged in to similar devices.  We tend to think of music as something which helps us to express our individuality, because of the wide range of tastes possible within the musical realm, but, at least in that moment, it was enabling a high degree of conformity.

Now, it may be that it’s just the “plugged-in” visual aspect of iPod use that creeps me out, rather than some more sinister aspect.  And, of course, there’s a certain degree of hypocrisy to what I’m writing here, because after all, I own an iPod.  But one can’t help but be concerned about where this trend is going.  Around UVa, it’s not uncommon to see a majority of people walking from place to place with MP3 players on.  I guess when you do as much walking around as most college students do, a little entertainment on the way is nice.  But it also robs the campus of some of that “agora” atmosphere that a campus is supposed to create.  I stopped wearing mine on all but the longest walks because I realized I was inhibiting friends from greeting me.

The other interesting thing about the phenomenon that interests me is the development of the “life soundtrack.”  You see this most vividly, again, in the experience of the college student.  Wakes up, heads off to class, iPod on, gets to class, iPod off.  After class ends, steps outside the classroom, iPod goes back on.  The music expands, like a gas, to fill that available space.  It seems to crowd out the room for spontaneity and possibility, turning the lifestory into, not drudgery exactly, but definitely a more scripted experience.  The expectation that our lives will follow this scripted pattern is subtle, but still not the best one to be cultivating.

But like I said, maybe I’m just a squeamish doomsday prophet-wannabe.  I’d be interested in hearing other thoughts about this.