A lot of people have come to see the mp3 player as an extension to their body […] they won’t leave the house without the device anymore. The music collection that they carry with them is a reflection of their identity and without an mp3 player, a lot of people feel incomplete. More and more people have become emotionally dependent on a piece of commercial technology. - Between Ears
In a post titled Space-Time Distortion, I told you that my iPod and Dell DJ MP3 players stopped working at the same time. Weird. But they’re both fixed now, and the music lives. I didn’t realize how much I used those things until I couldn’t use them anymore. It felt like I was going through withdrawal. 
(I bought the DJ first because I wanted to avoid the iPod hype, but then I broke down and bought a video iPod. Because of DRM restrictions, I can’t consolidate the two music libraries, which is why I maintain two players.)
On Listening Post, a Wired magazine blog, I read about a Dutch survey on “how and why people use their mp3 players.” An excerpt:
The mp3 player gives people the opportunity to cut off from reality around them, and to create an individual “space” in theirs heads, which makes them feel more comfortable in their surrounding; they fill their shopping bags with their hands, while their head is being filled by dreamy soundscapes. The device gives people a sense of control over their own (emotional) lives.
Two filmmakers intend to create a documentary about the phenomenon. This got me thinking about how and why I use my MP3 players. I’ve owned at least one for a couple of years now and 
listen to both all the time. The computer severely cut into my TV viewing time (I consider that a good thing), and my music collection runs a close second.
I listen to everything from country to hard rock to “easy listening” to classic disco to classical. I listen to audio books and podcasts, too. I bring both players with me when I travel out of town but only one when traveling locally.
I feel incomplete when I go out without one of my MP3 players. I admit that I sometimes use it to cut myself off from people, to settle into the “world between ears.” Everything and everyone just seem more pleasant when I’m walking down the street or through an airport or riding on the Metro while listening to my tunes.
What about you? Tell us how and why you use your gadget. What sort of music/audio books/podcasts do you listen to?
I received my video iPod for my b-day in 06 & found myself letting my son use it on road trips instead of the “clunky* 10″ DVD player. He was so excited one afternoon when he heard on the TV that he could download America’s Funniest Home Video to HIS iPod. I rarely use my iPod to listen to music since I can’t stand to see people walking around with earphones in their ears and when the music is so loud that I can hear it that drives me crazy. To be honest I still don’t know how to completely operate the thing. Love iTunes though.
My husband purchased the video Nano when it came out and I like the size & feel of that player over the larger one I have. It’s small on internal space but still a great player to slip into your pocket if you do want to have a player with you.
When I do have the opportunity to listen (in the car) to anything on my iPod it’s almost always a Podcast of some sort - usually something off of Townhall. Love Michael Medved. My kid likes Adventures in Odyssey.
Apple has Rocked our household in the past 2 years that’s for sure!
Peace
Comment by Sharon — 11.13.07 @ 8:12 am
I hijack my wife’s iPod and listen to it while I do yardwork or have to drive a god distance away. I like to listen to anything from country, classic rock, some pop/hip hop (depends on the artist and the content of the song), folk music. No disco please!
As far as podcasts, I like to listen to gaming podcasts (I’m an incorrigible video game freak), the Irish and Celtic Music podcast, and Walk in the Word, a great Christian Podcast (both of these are available on iTunes).
And if I have to sit and wait in a waiting room, nothing kills time like watching an episode of Spongebob!
Comment by Jezla — 11.13.07 @ 9:44 am
Oops! I meant ‘good’ distance away!
Comment by Jezla — 11.13.07 @ 9:45 am
I have an iPhone and I love it. I use it mostly in the car for music, as I have a two year old and wearing headphones isn’t really an option. I also love that I only have one thing to put in my purse as far as electronic devices go. I keep a couple of movies on it for my son if we get caught waiting somewhere a long time and I love that it has a built in speaker, so he doesn’t wear headphones. I have all my music on it and his Dan Zanes and VeggieTales albums, too.
I will say that one of the greatly under-appreciated new inventions is the AppleTV. We have one and it networks our regular television to our computers so we can play anything on our iTunes on our TV over our home network. Doesn’t seem like such a big deal until you have a few movies (and possibly a DVD player) destroyed by a very curious toddler! Digital media is virtually indestructible!
Comment by Eilish — 11.13.07 @ 10:39 am
(Music! Slacker!)
I use mine to listen to sermons and lectures while I walk, cook, do various things.
I use instrumental music as “white noise” when I’m needing to read somewhere amid audio distractions.
Comment by Dan Phillips — 11.13.07 @ 10:52 am
I mostly use my mp3 player in my Jeep. Plugs right into the car radio and I have my whole cd collection with me. I’m not comfortable walking around in public with it on, I like to know what is going on around me. When I was a teenager though I was guilty of waking around with my walkman 24/7, off in my own little world so I won’t pick on anyone else for doing the same. Somtimes I miss my cassette tapes!
Comment by Don — 11.13.07 @ 11:54 am
My company gave everyone in our unit little iPod Shuffles last “holiday” season. I filled mine with various pop/rock Christian music and use it as part of my devotion/quiet time.
Comment by MikeM — 11.13.07 @ 7:32 pm
Because there used to be universal agreement about what was appropriate.
If I go into Bloomingdales and hear jarring hip-hop….you know that there’s a problem. Look at the noise pollution these days….and the majority of it coming from people who want our money !
If they can’t figure out the proper music to set the mood, then I’m not shopping in their store !
I’ll just put on my own tasteful elevator classics, and shop with E-bay !
Comment by Glamchild — 11.13.07 @ 11:25 pm
I have several devices capable of playing music and video, but unless I am trapped on a lengthy airplane ride, I never really use them.
Hearing the everyday noises of life is an education to me, something that changes by the moment, and I don’t want to pre-empt any potential encounters that God may have planned just because I have “deafeners” in.
In the car, the old AM/FM radio usually does the trick
Comment by Glen — 11.14.07 @ 12:15 am
I am not one to climb into bed with the Ipod, mainly because of the battery replacement/cost issues, the digital rights management and the feature set.
I use a sandisk player, only 512 mb, that is now only around 25 dollars. It has an fm radio and recorder. It has served me well up till now. I used it when traveling on the bus, or when doing data entry on a previous job (alternating music with the radio).
I am ready for an upgrade, but it will be a flash player, and probably around 2gb. Just enough to hold my favorites plus some data files and photos.
And what do I have on it now? A little of everyone. Some Nora Jones and Mark Knopfler. Some Keith Green and Cold Play. Some Soul Patrol, Leonard Cohen, Phil Keaggy and Alison Krauss. (Especially this cut from her album with Robert Plant). Even some classical choir music. It’s all mixed up.
Then too, I am one of those people who can listen to a song I like over and over for a half hour straight, so that 512 mb can goes a long way.
Comment by Finn — 11.14.07 @ 4:42 am
My father’s a musician, so I grew up around a lot of music. From that, I kind of gained a certain appreciation for sound and am generally a “sound-oriented” person. I got an iPod for my last birthday and I assumed that I would be using it a lot, but it hasn’t worked out that way. I like music too much to let it just become “background” noise, and I also think that ordinary noises have their own beats, melodies, and harmonies that keep me entertained without having to have a constant loop of my favorite pop songs in my ears.
When I’m walking or running I want to hear the my own footsteps, my breathing, and the sounds of the world around me. When I’m reading I want to hear the words on the page being spoken inside my head. When I want to listen to music, I lay down on my bed, pop in the iPod, and just relax and focus on the notes, the sounds of the instruments, and the details of the singer’s voice. I pick the music apart too much to just have it playing in my head while I’m doing something else.
Comment by Jay — 11.14.07 @ 11:53 am
LaShawn, glad to see you’re still blogging. There may be times I disagree with you but I know where your heart is, but before I get off topic, I have an earphone in one ear at work so I can hear what’s going on around me. Mostly have my MP3 player on random, unless I’m in the mood for something specific. At the gym I have a workout playlist that gets changed often. Sometimes I’ll hook it up in my car (low tech, cassette adapter), but a lot of times I have the radio on. It’s a short drive home and I like to listen to news mostly.
Comment by Chuck — 11.14.07 @ 5:30 pm
I use a Sansa e260 player whilst at the laundromat, because the laundromat radio has been locked into the local country station, and you can only hear about her no good achy breaky cheatin’ heart so many times before you wish she’d just move on with her life already.
I also listen to it while grocery shopping for the same reason. And sometimes while doing heavy reading, to aid the concentration.
Comment by jm — 11.14.07 @ 8:46 pm
I wouldn’t even know what an Ipod or an Iphone is, but I do have a Dell computer. Man, is it a piece of junk! It’s an Inspiron 1150 and it overheats and the battery is no good. The overheating is a big problem with this computer but I haven’t heard if there is going to be a class action suit started (there was for another Dell computer). Anyhoooo, if my Dell decides to go belly up, I will be lost!
If anyone has any recommendations for when I’m ready to buy a new computer, I’m all ears.
Comment by batyah — 11.15.07 @ 11:57 am
When it came time to replace my old Handspring PDA, one of my requirements was that I would be able to download mp3s, books, articles, and my Outlook Contacts and Calendar. I got a Palm Tungsten E2 that does all of that. The only limitation is it will only read a memory card of 1GB max, so I have to be rather selective about what I download.
My taste is eclectic: Nat “King” Cole, Simon & Garfunkel, Rod Stewart’s Great American Songbook, Celtic music, the soundtrack to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I don’t always use it, just mostly when I ride BART. Although the first time I did it, I missed my stop because I wasn’t looking out the window!
Comment by March Hare — 11.15.07 @ 6:31 pm
I also use the Dell DJ20 mp3 player. (How did you get yours repaired, since Dell no longer supports it?)
I use my mp3 player all the time. During workouts in the basement. I plug it into the stereo in my truck and listen on the road. I select a ’sounds of nature’ track like ‘thunderstorm’ and doze off for a nap. I use it at work on off-shifts to drown out background noise. I listen to it will riding my bike.
I don’t remember how I got along before buying it.
Comment by Barry in CO — 11.19.07 @ 4:36 am
Did I say I had it repaired? I meant to say I bought another one on eBay.
Comment by La Shawn — 11.19.07 @ 1:36 pm
When do we get our triorders? and pokedex?
Comment by BIRDZILLA — 11.21.07 @ 11:02 am