I have never seen Dawn of the Dead. Or even Shaun of the Dead. But sometimes I feel like I am surrounded by zombies. I see these zombies at the crosswalk or waiting for the train. They are of all walks of life, and they are totally oblivious to their surroundings. They all have one thing in common: they are fused to their iPods.
When I was little, I had this compilation of "Richard Scarry" stories. I've forgotten most of them by now, but I still remember that first one. It was about this bear, rabbit, elephant or nondescript Richard Scarry mammal character who was so engrossed in his newspaper that he caused a ruckus throughout the town. He walked through laundry, stepped in cement - everywhere he went, he left a mess behind.
I fear this is where the iPod zombies are headed. I've come close to hitting a few with my car - they are never looking. A few have actually bumped into me standing on the sidewalk. Suddenly, the normal boundaries of personal space are no longer there. They cannot hear the normal human sounds (breathing, coughing, fidgeting) of a person standing right behind them. They just bob along - like buoys.
Don't get me wrong, I love my iPod. But these iPod zombies are dangerous. To me. And more importantly, to themselves. Someday they're going to find themselves stuck in cement like that Richard Scarry character. And no one will hear their cries for help - because they will be surrounded by other iPod zombies.
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I am an iPod zombie - to a degree....but the lack of hearing of the outside world doesn't affect my eye sight....I can see people's personal space (probably because I'm very conscious of my own personal space) and I don't blare the volume so I can't hear a police car, ambulance or fire truck coming....so maybe I'm not such a zombie afterall....
ReplyDeleteI'm serious - these people are scary. I sometimes walk with my iPod, but I'm really careful when crossing the street, etc. And if I'm getting on the train, I wait to plug in until I'm actually ON the train.
ReplyDeleteI like/use my ipod to workout and ride the L to work but it is getting a little out of control these days. For example, like do you really need to wear the ipod at the grocery store? Are you shopping for an army and spending 2 hours there? Do you need to wear it when walking your dog a block down the street and back? I mean, come on. Or the people who have to be reminded by the flight attendants to turn the ipod off everytime we take off??
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