Information Society: "iPod"

Reading about the iPod in different newspapers from different times truly shed light on the intense productivity of our time. The first iPod was released in 2001, which was less than 15 years ago. However, the advancements that have already been made to the device are mind boggling. In an article from the "Los Angeles Times" posted in 2002, it states things like "It works like a Walkman, except it can hold an entire CD collection's worth of MP3 music files." This sentence made me laugh because the amount of songs in a CD collection is miniscule compared to what the iPod can now hold. It explains how the original iPod contained 5 gigabytes and after only one year, the iPod could hold "a whopping 20 gigabytes." This article showed how fast technology can advance because today, there are devices that can hold 32 gigabytes. A different article from "The Chicago Tribune" was titled "Gadgets Would Be Great Stuffers For This Year's Holiday Stockings; Gear For Music, Video; Hottest items include devices that let users take music on the road." The title in itself shows how popular the iPod was at the time. As I read this article, I couldn't help but think about how people probably do not find iPods in their stockings anymore because iPods have been replaced. In the "Best of NYC: Audibles" article from the "New York Times" published in 2007, people raved about the iPod being included in the first ever iPhone. While browsing, I realized that my information technology is somewhat skewed because today, many people rely on their iPhone for their music instead of buying a separate device. 

In a more recent article from "The Statesman," Michael Bull talks about how people need to learn how to "divorce" their iPod. He goes into the obsession that people have with their music since many people carry their iPod within their iPhone. Today, we carry our cell phones everywhere we go and can therefore play any song to fit our mood no matter what the setting is. People use music as a means of exaggerating their feelings and having an iPod app makes people addicted. Other articles I looked at used "iPod" in a very different way than earlier publications. In more recent articles, the term "iPod" is being referred to as a digital application instead of a physical, independent device. This condensation shows how advanced we are today because we can take a physical device and turn it into a virtual app on our phone that doesn't take up nearly as much space as the original contraption. 

Julia Zureikat