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| My beats that I adore so very much. www.drdrebeatsdetox.com |
Those white Apple headphones that come with their products used to mean a great deal. They used to mean that you could afford an iPod, and that meant something. You could listen to music while walking down the street, and you didn't need CDs, or a radio or anything silly like that. You were able to choose the music you wanted to listen to, and listen to it.
Now, when almost everybody under 40 probably owns an iPod, those white headphones are everywhere. Having them means nothing, only that you've bought into the fad along with everybody else (I'm not excluded from this group, so please don't get offended). So, something had to happen with headphones.
There have been various companies that have tried to capitalize on this instinctive nature to appear different from the masses. The one that comes easiest to mind is Skullcandy. I think their headphones are absolutely gaudy and somewhat horrible, but I respect them for trying something new. The latest fad in headphones has been Beats.
Beats, by Dre, are over-the-head headphones that are said to produce the best sound quality of any headphones. I myself bought a pair of Beats, and I really had to think about why. At the end of the day, I could have stayed with normal iPod headphones, but I felt a need to be different from the masses (even though tons of people own Beats). So, I spent the outrageous amount of money I spent on something that only professional DJs could really use. I love my Beats more than anything in life, but they are completely unnecessary. All in an attempt to be different.
I see exactly what you mean when you talk about Ipods, headphones, and their predecessors. I would say that these things have become fashion accessories, and what they convey to others has changed over time. Like you said, at first, it was a statement to wear the headphones and walk around with an Ipod because it meant that you could afford it. Now, it means that you are in the loop and is a way of conformity (and still means that you can afford it though that has lost focus over time). I see more and more of the big headphones, and they are certainly a different style than the simplistic white ear buds that Apple produces for Ipods. In one way, you could look at these accessories as a way of establishing ethos; people are trying in one way or another to validate something about themselves. I think, too, that there is a lot of rhetoric regarding the effects of social interaction brought about by Ipods and similar products. Communication is altered and affected.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that you say this because I believe that in an attempt to be different and shy away from the basic white apple headphones now it seems like almost everyone has Beats by Dre. My brother owns a pair, and I thought about buying a pink pair myself until I realized that no matter how great the beats were I would most likely be wasting my money because I probably would not even wear them. In our society, were always trying to find ways to be different, and when we find them, other people just tend to tag along. Because of this, I'd say its pretty hard to be unique now a days!
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