Dear Apple Inc.,
Congratulations on successfully monopolizing the digital entertainment market. Since the introduction of the iPod and iTunes Store in 2001, consumers worldwide have scrambled to experience entertainment the “Apple way”: a hipper-than-thou lifestyle based on variety and hyper-personalization (see: those Mac vs. PC commercials). The portability, convenience and capabilities of your products are unmatched. The iTunes Store is never out of stock. I can’t seem to browse the internet without being offered a free iPod, and I even heard you finally won that copyright war with the Beatles—impressive!
I would, however, like to issue a formal complaint about your ideology. While your technological advancements over the past seven years are laudable, an increasing sense of isolationism has emerged as a byproduct of the “Apple way.” Consider the iPod: given its memory capacity, my family and friends can conceivably enjoy entire days of entertainment without interruption, sans re-charging. Commuters can ignore each other in style, flaunting their iPods like mood rings, broadcasting the emotions of the day without actually engaging in real conversation. And why bother engaging anyway? With all that electronic memory at their fingertips, there’s little impetus to process anything else.
I’m aware that this social development isn’t entirely your fault. I choose to use my iPod to shut out the world frequently. But the negative impacts of your products extend beyond “isolationism.” Recently, schools and businesses across the country have had to ban the iPod due to its capability to facilitate cheating on exams and stealing information from work. This development is unrelated to Apple on the surface, but let’s not forget the general solipsism of your image. Most of your products begin with the letter “i,” don’t they?
From a musical standpoint, the iTunes store has issues of its own. God forbid that consumers leave their homes to visit a dusty record store where real humans reside. Instead, let’s trust in lifeless “Listeners Also Bought” and “What’s Hot” algorithms to guide our taste. While Napster and Kazaa may have gotten the ball rolling on this one, they never offered “exclusives,” high-quality bit rates, or RIAA-approved (read: legal) products. You’ve done more to make record stores increasingly superfluous and recondite.
The bottom line is that between the iPod, iTunes and the Apple image, you’ve made being alone awfully convenient, even attractive. If the streak continues, maybe we can expect streaming concert footage on iTunes and albums made entirely with GarageBand.
I can’t blame you, Apple. You’re merely invoking your right to free enterprise. But the last time I checked, so were Phillip Morris and R.J. Reyonlds. Your products sell, but to what end? Maybe we should have taken those dancing silhouettes commercials as fair warning…
Regrettably Yours,
Daniel David Jerome Cook
