To collect or not to collect?
Is it better to surround yourself with a shrine-like wall of CDs and DVDs or free up that bookcase and home-entertainment center with a virtual “collection” that exists digitally on an iPod or computer hard drive?
The debate heated up again when Apple rolled out its new iPod Hi-Fi speaker system, which can connect to a TV and other audio sources.
With the new docking device, Apple CEO Steve Jobs assured early adopters that your “music is not on CDs in your cabinet. It’s on your iPod.”
The idea of not having a tangible music collection be it CD, cassette or vinyl album has rattled some ardent collectors. They argue that without something to touch and discuss, you forfeit something fundamental.
“We’re a culture of pack rats, and very much into owning in physical ways,” said Sean Wargo of the Consumer Electronics Association in Arlington, Va. “We prefer to interact with our machines the way we interact with each other by sight and touch. It makes us feel more secure.”
But the convenience of downloading music has changed all that, Wargo adds. For many consumers, speed and portability now trumps that sense of well-being that comes from holding a prized CD or album.
Lucy Chen and Jon Tin, both 16, agree whole-heartedly. Both would be lost without their MP3 players. “I download all my songs,” says Jon. “Online just makes it easier, and I don’t think I’m losing any interaction with friends.”
Adds Teresa Wu, 17, of Fremont, Ca, “I stopped collecting CDs the old way back in seventh grade. It’s nice to have your little plastic case and stuff on the artist, but it’s so much more convenient to keep music digitally.”
How you squirrel away that new album by Mariah Carey or Death Cab for Cutie on bedroom shelf or hard drive says a lot about your personality and could affect your emotional well-being, say psychologists. The collector who can reach out and touch his collection may be happier in the long run.
“All that computer collecting takes its toll you’re forfeiting face-to-face interaction with people who share your passion,” says I. David Marcus, a San Jose, Ca, psychologist who specializes in online behavior. “And that means you don’t learn how to read social cues as well.”
Or, enjoy that warm-and-fuzzy rush some call nostalgia.
“The MP3 and iPod guys are more into accessibility, having the medium in hand,” says Brian Hartsell, 50, who runs San Jose’s Analog Room, which sells turntables and LPs. “The people who come into my store are into sound quality and nostalgia. Listening to the Beatles and the Kinks reminds them of their youth.”
Leave a Reply