Mobility of Music

The ability to listen to music using portable devices such as iPods, laptops, and mp3 players alters an individual’s perception and experience of reality. The mobility of music, facilitated by ongoing technological advancement, aurally transports us to wherever we choose; instead of dealing with our immediate realities, we can allow ourselves to be taken through time, space, and environment. The portability of technology has encouraged the state of information overload that we now habitually live within. Instead of paying attention to immediate concerns – the oncoming traffic, for instance – we now are preoccupied by peripheral ideas and sounds. The acoustic space in which we now live has placed an emphasis upon the importance of a world in which speech and listening are central. The long term effects of this shift in our daily perception of life is yet to be determined.