I Hate iPods

I hate iPods. Even my spell checker hates iPods. It screams at me, "No, you idiot! You can't have the first letter of the name be lower case and the second upper case! Where did you learn English??!!" Or something to that effect. But it's not the spelling that I hate. It's the effect. And, to be completely fair, it's not merely iPods that I hate. It's all those things in technology that are like it.

I was reading a news item the other day talking about Second Life, a popular game world where people go to live in virtual reality. The article was about how people do everything in that world, including spending real money and getting married ... even if they are already married in real life. They asked an expert, "Is that cheating on your spouse?" You know, you never actually physically meet this person. You never have sex with them. It's not real; it's virtual. "Virtual" ... now there's a term. It is defined by the dictionary as something to the effect of "existing or resulting in essence or effect though not in actual fact or form." It is, then, true in essence, just not in fact. So "virtual reality" is essentially true, just not factually true. To which the expert responded, "Any time you take away from your spouse what you would have given him or her and give it to someone else of the same gender, it's cheating." Wow! How often do we do that? And how does that relate to iPods?

I work at a university and at lunch time I often take a walk. You can only imagine how many students are walking around campus with iPods stuck in their ears. They don't see you. They don't hear you. They don't acknowledge your presence or existence. They are somewhere in a special, virtual world inside that machine that grabs all their attention and shuts out everyone else. And it's cheating. Instead of offering the simple nod and smile to passers by, they are oblivious. "You don't exist," they say, in essence, "and I can't be bothered."

As I said, it's not merely iPods. It's other things like television and amusement and ... yes, computers. None of these things are bad on their own. It's when they steal from others what belongs to them that they become bad. If air conditioning, for instance, keeps you indoors when you could and should be out meeting your neighbors, it's stealing. If you are so engrossed in a football game on TV that you can't spend time with your wife and children, it's stealing. When you plug in and tune out with an iPod rather than interact with your family on the drive to church or anywhere else, it's stealing.

And then you have to ask yourself the broader question. From whom am I stealing when I use my technology when I'm alone? We don't like "quiet" too often in our daily lives. When you're driving, you'll likely have a radio or CD or iPod going. When you're at home, you'll likely have the TV or some other "noise" on. It is times like these when we are available to be with family or, better yet, the Lord. Still, we cut them off by drowning them out with technology. And then we wonder why our relationship with the Lord isn't more vibrant, why our spoused say we don't ever talk anymore, and when did those kids get so big? It's stealing.

Technology, for the large part, is morally neutral. It's amazing to me, however, how capable human beings are in making it morally bad. Ask yourself. What am I doing that is stealing from my wife, my husband, my kids, my neighbors? Better yet, ask your wife or husband, kids, and neighbors. And don't be shy if you find out you are cheating on friends, family, or neighbors. If thine iPod offend thee, cut it off.