iPOd's

While sitting on the metro on my way back from a job interview at 4 PM on a Friday, I noticed a five men walk on together. Each man had those distinctive white headphones on, but continued their conversation with each other. Was their music really that important, or has the ipod become so popular that it has become OK to engage in conversation while listening to your ipod.

On that same metro ride, in my car alone, I saw 16 people, in five stops with an ipod. These people ranged from kids coming home from school, to young professionals, and even to people in their 40's and 50's. Why is the ipod so appealing? Why are people willing to pay anywhere from $150-$350 in order to obtain one, when they can purchase a different mp3 player for less than half of that price. Granted, ipods are very user friendly, but it does say alot about our society and what "is in" and what "people have to have".