iPod in the mall

[revgeorge]

I had to go to the mall last night to pick something up. I brought my iPod and was listening to O'Reilly's FooCast in the car, so I brought the iPod with me in to the store. I wasn't a jerk about it, I put away both earbuds when I was talking to the salesperson, but the rest of the time I had them in. echolex thought that was weird of me, but I don't

Comments

[qmrf]

I think a lot of people are critical of iPod use in public places (and just where else _would_ you use them?) because they feel it leads to iPod Daze and failure to interact with people.

But, honestly, how much interaction do you have when walking down the street, through the mall, etc? iPod or no, even a smile / nod / "hi" to a stranger is as likely to cause them to look uncomfortable and avoid eye contact as to get a response in kind, so, as long as you're maintaining the same level of environmental and (minimal) social awareness when you put you earbuds in, what really are you missing?

[leighton]

I agree. You are at least twice as involved in the world with an iPod as compared to the cellzombies blathering about a TV show as they bump into you.

But...
The white wires are a bit Tron-ish / cultish. They shout "LOOK - I HAVE AN I - POD TOO... ARE YOU OF THE BODY?"

[qmrf]

Agreed - cell phones are a way of interacting with something that's not of your environment, while iPods are a way of supplementing your experience of the environment. Ideally, you keep them at such a volume that you provide a soundtrack while being able to respond to somebody who says something to you or step out of the way of a bus.

[royalmarty]

It's not weird. I frequently go to the store with some music and my noise-cancelling headphones on. People do look at you though...