iPods as cocoons

One of the more recent issues in social science has been the phenomenon called "cocooning," wherein people are able to isolate themselves in their worlds of technology... like Hugh Grant's character in About a Boy, "No man is an island" "Yes I am, I'm a bloody island, I'm bloody Ibiza!" (Sorry, I think that's a funny line. Maybe only in context, but whatever.) Anyway, the growing popularity of iPods highlights this issue because people are able to isolate themselves from the world while walking around in public. Those of us lucky enough to do so think it's pretty cool. It's like you don't lose anything by not having the privacy of a car when you go places. In my newfound enthusiasm for learning about all things Apple, I found this NY Times article commenting on how it's playing out in, you guessed it, New York. Anyway, good article, and funny too.