iPod: Friend or foe?

Thousands of IU students walk around campus to the beat of their own drum, thanks to their iPods. What they might not realize is that the only drum beating is in their ears. Doctors say listening to iPods at a loud volume will increase hearing problems.\n“Of course, having the volume up is the trend right now,” said Lynn May, a nurse at the Ear Nose and Throat Clinic in Bloomington. “The music is just too loud.”\nThe clinic suggests keeping the volume on an iPod down to a minimum, which students find agreeable.\n“I try to keep the volume down,” senior Abby Evans said. “I hate it when other people can hear what I’m listening to.”\nMany student iPod users said they mainly listen to music on campus.\n“I usually use my iPod on campus or when I’m working out,” junior Audrey Katt said. “I guess just to pass the time.”\nThis trend has simple explanations from various iPod users.\n“It’s entertainment,” senior Chris Tucker said. “I use it to block out everything else for studying, but the main reason is I like to jam out from class to class.”\nBut each iPod user interviewed was in agreement: They don’t want to know what is going on around them while listening to music.\n“It really helps to tune people out when I’m reading or studying,” Evans said. “People don’t bother me as much with it on.”\nWhile the number is shrinking, there are still some who do not own an iPod. Those students interviewed also had similar reasoning for not wanting an iPod.\n“I think (iPod users) are missing out on things,” junior Marie Coomes said. “If they are in class, they close out possible interactions with people.”\nJunior Margo Sullivan agreed.\n“I think it’s sad when you see two people walking next to each other not talking, just listening to music,” she said.\nBut some students interviewed are not against all music players, just iPod. Freshman Adam Stuckey said he does not like anything made by Apple. \nDespite being few in number, these students do not hold grudges against their fellow iPod-wearing peers.\n“It doesn’t bother me,” Stuckey said. “I don’t look at people and say, ‘I hate you because you have an iPod.’”\nThere also does not seem to be a lot of pressure for students without iPods to buy one, although many agree they are more convenient.\n“It seems like every store only has MP3 accessories for the iPod,” sophomore Justin Greenberger said. “I like my MP3 player a lot but there are definitely not a lot of opportunities for it.”\nGreenberger described an incident he had at a local Best Buy that sold mainly iPod accessories and nothing for his Creative MP3 player. While he finds the situation frustrating, he does not hold any bitterness against people who do choose iPods.\n“I think its fine; I’m not really all rebellion against the iPod,” he said. “People can choose what they choose, but they definitely have a benefit over the people who don’t own one.”