Buds in the Ears

What's happened to dialogue? It seems to be an endangered species in our modern technocentric society where every other young person seems to be wearing a headset, preferably white to act as a badge of iPod ownership. Listening to music and being culturally aware is great but there comes a point when it's time to put down the headphones and engage with the people around you; you can't have a real discussion with sound blasting into your ears from a set of buds.

I see examples of disfunctionality, and lack of interaction, all around: a family sitting on the subway with the two kids sitting in the middle, each with a set of headphones on; a boyfriend and girlfriend walking down the street holding hands, headphones in the ears; or a group of friends heading home from school, headphones in the ears - none of these people are talking or connecting with one another. Are we to enter into a world where we are all isolated from one another except for the most important of interactions? In a world like this it would be difficult ot form a social consensus on issues affecting us.

The basis of democracy is engaging with your fellow citizen in discussion, talking about pertinent issues and generally finding out what's going on in the community. How is democracy to survive as people act in a more and more isolating manner? While iPod and cool may be synonymous, has our technology come to own us as more and more people jump on the band wagon? When we become more interested in self-gratification than engaging with those around us we are stepping onto a path with real pitfalls - the powerful are more than happy to have us as mindless vessels, filled to overflowing with content from our iPods rather than as active, engaged citizens.

provided by guest mh.net panelist Andrew Randell