I have an MP3 player and love it. I mostly only wear it when I'm working out/running.
I can't see how, as a general rule, MP3 impose a greater level of impersonality. Think about it. Riding on an elevator, on a bus, a cab, or an airplane, do you normally turn and start chatting up the person next to you? Nope. And what if they do it to you? You feel a tad uncomfortable at first, then annoyed, and finally trapped and resentful that this wacko has to blather on at you for no reason.
We all find ways to tune other people out. MP3 players just give us music to do it by.
Clive is barking loony on the political angle, whatever his tech writer merits.
But I know when I play my iPod backwards, it sounds a lot like screamin Howard Dean.
Very insightful post, I could identify with the *fear of being rude* aspect.
My habits...
Never heard a podcast.
Don't normally wear the iPod walking or jogging.
I like to wear it while mowing my lawn on my riding mower.
But my favorite thing to do with it is to play music in the car via the little transmitter (iTrip?) that broadcasts to my car radio.
The ear buds are pretty amazing but someday I might spring for some good headphones.
Commenting by HaloScan
