On-The-Go Entertainment

I guess it all started with the car stereo. Back in the day, you were lucky to get anything more than an AM/LW mono radio installed in a new car, so a few quid would be spent to get the latest Pioneer stereo with FM radio, cassette player and graphic equaliser fitted along with a couple of matching speakers. This gave the freedom to listen to music of your choice on the move.

Then came the Sony Walkman. At the time it was a nifty piece of gear that allowed you to indulge in your personal music on the move. The problem was that these things were quite bulky and a large bag was required to carry your music collection. As the battery life was low, you also needed to added spare AA batteries in your bag. This meant that those indulging in personal music would be laden down with large sac or one of the trendy bum-bags that were all the rage. To be honest it was all too much of a fag to carry all of this gear, plus, of course, you did look a bit like a dick with it on...

Enter the iPod and subsequent MP3 players. Small, with lots of space to fit an entire collection. These things can last for days without re-charging and can fit into a jacket pocket.

“All well and good,” I hear you say, “personal choice at the touch of a button, technology working for the masses”

The problem is that the art of conversation seems to have died. One no longer chatsunless it’s with colleagues and friends. Gone are the days where you could strike up a conversation in a bus queue or on a train. Indeed, if you do you considered a “nutter”. Folks are now wrapped up in their own musical world to notice what is going on around them. I have blogged in the past about cyclists merrily belting along the road, wired for sound. How can they be aware of the traffic around them?

I’ve seen pedestrians almost walk into each other, so deep were they in their melodic dreams. Sooner or later (assuming that it hasn’t happened yet) some poor sod of a driver will get done because he’d knocked a pedestrian down as the latter was too engrossed in Take That to notice that the pedestrian crossing lights had changed.

And now we have SKY Go. You can now watch your favourite SKY Sports channel from mobile devices such as mobiles phones, tablets or laptops. BBC News is available through these devices and before long I’ll be willing to bet that you’ll be able to watch any TV program “on-the-go”

I dread to think the social consequences of this. Silent pubs (if there are any left!) as each punter focuses on Eastenders or a re-run of Top Gear. Arguments in buses and trains as some inconsiderate youth decide to watch Hollyoaks without using headphones. Carnage on the roads as pedestrians watching The Jeremy Kyle Show get mowed down by cyclists who are listening to Bon Jovi.

I love technology and I like gadgets, but there is a time and a place for everything, and I do seriously believe that entertainment “on-the-go” is killing our ability to communicate.