iPod Creates Personal Space, Says Professor

[Kent Pribbernow]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3542391.stm' target='_blank'>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3542391.stm</a><br /><br /></div>BBC News has posted an interesting story of one sociology professor's study on the Apple iPod, and how it impacts its user. His assertion is that the iPod creates a layer of personal space around the user, an aura of "self". :rainbow1: <br /><br />"To Dr Michael Bull, portable music players are "multi-faceted transformative devices", a "tool whereby users manage space, time and the boundaries around the self." <br /><br />Dr Bull is one of the few academics, possibly the only one, to spend time researching what owners of iPods and other music players do with their gadgets, why they listen to them and what difference they make to their lives."<br /><br />This is all very interesting, but don't you get the impression Dr. Bull is feeding us a line of......well, you know what I mean. In my opinion he is over analyzing the iPod to death. As Sigmund Freud once said, <b>"sometimes a cigar is just a cigar"</b>.

[ctmagnus]

Donning a pair of earbuds also grants a certain amount of licence. They let listeners become witnesses without the risk of getting too involved. The earphones absolve them of some responsibility.

In the same way, removing earphones when talking to someone sends a strong message about how interested one is in what is being said. It pays the speaker a compliment.

I find the above statements to be quite true. Of course, the type of headphones used affects the situation as well.