Disengagement Revisited

Back in February, Alan and I got into a bit of a discussion about isolation/awareness of one's surroundings in the new iPod culture. I wrote that I was interested in the why of the iPod's popularity, and that of an "isolationist" culture in general.

In today's Kingsport Times-News, columnist Jim Welch addresses similar themes when he writes about his new iPod. He expands the idea, though, to include cellphones, satellite radio, and even e-mail. He opines that we are disengaging (I had used the term isolating; his word is the better choice) ourselves because "[s]urrounded by a world we do not know, we choose to answer a phone call [and Todd adds: or listen to a song or read an e-mail] from a world we already know."

Interesting thoughts, his. I encourage you to read this column. Registration is required, but I've made it easy for you. Just sign in as noone@bugmenot.com with password bugmenot.