The main criticism made against new technology is a kind of Luddist response that personal technology like the iPod keeps them from that exciting social brouhah known as modern urban life. Back in 2005, Andrew Sullivan whined: 
Even without the white wires you can tell who they are. They walk down the street in their own MP3 cocoon, bumping into others, deaf to small social cues, shutting out anyone not in their bubble… Walk through any airport in the United States these days and you will see person after person gliding through the social ether as if on autopilot. Get on a subway and you’re surrounded by a bunch of Stepford commuters staring into mid-space as if anaesthetised by technology.
The key word in that is autopilot. And it’s because there really is nothing interesting in a railway announcement telling you all the stations that your train is going to. It’s the same stations as it went to yesterday, and the same stations that it will go to tomorrow. When you get to the airport, getting groped by security guards and buying slightly-discounted Toblerones from the duty free is also not massively exciting. Once you’ve been to one airport, you’ve been to them all. Nobody gets excited about Gatwick Airport. Once you’ve taken one commuter train once, the pleasure in repeating the experience drops somewhat.
People have always known that this world has parts which are almost by necessity dull and to-be-avoided. Hence meditation, imagination, books, movies and music. The difference with the iPod is that it is easy for people to put material on to it. A number of my friends put out podcasts. Occasionally, I wake up to find new material from friends and acquaintances. This technology has helped strengthen friendships and social togetherness by allowing us to spread news of events and discussion points among people. Should I refuse to spend my commute reading the blog entries and listening to the podcasts of friends and rather try to engage with my fellow passengers?
Sorry, but nice enough people that they undoubtedly are, we probably share little in common, except for the fact that we will both arrive in central London at about 10am.
If the people who run the public spaces which the iPodders opt-out of really want their attention, stop wasting it. Cut all the damn announcements down to an absolute minimum. Stop informing passengers of every little thing. Don’t have alarm tests. Install a quiet carriage where mobile phones and noisy children are not allowed.
I spend three hours a day on some form of public transport. Can you blame me for wanting to learn something interesting and useful during that time? When the alternative is listening to hasty phone calls from self-important suits, screaming children and tinny announcements of the blindingly obvious, of course people will want to escape. Until we can get a spam filter for our ears, personal stereos like the iPod will be a requirement for modern day living.
If you want to read more anti-Luddite stuff, read this.
