While I concede the point, that the iPod (and other similar devices) can make it easier for people to disengage from the outside world, I think they also make it easier to engage with things they might otherwise not get to hear and/or see.

Podcasts, for example. Sure it's just one way content, but then, so are books. And it's likely content that you wouldn't get to hear anywhere else.

Email can let you communicate with people you'd never meet in real life. If that substitutes for actually having drinks with friends, then that's not so healthy, but it can be an addition, rather than replacement for human contact.

Like anything, should an iPod fall into the wrong hands, it can be used for evil, but I think there are many opportunities to use that power for good. Cell phones, however, just suck.
Alan | Email | Homepage | 04.08.05 - 9:32 am | #