"Is Society Dead?" - Andrew Sullivan ( Detailed Summary) Plus One

Is Society Dead?

                                                                                             - Andrew Sullivan

Detailed Summary

            “Is Society Dead” is an article written by Andrew Sullivan in which he talked about ‘i-pod generation’ and appeared in The Times Online on February 20, 2005. When Andrew Sullivan visited New York, he saw some strange things. He was shocked when he realised that the nightlife in New York was diminishing. But in the day time, we saw a little bit hustle-bustle. Even Manhattan had changed. There was quietness everywhere even though he saw many people in pavements.

             When Andrew Sullivan observed the people who were walking, he realized that there were some similarities among these people. They had i-pods which were attached with white wires and were directly connected to their ears. They were listening to music and shunned away from society. Their eyes indicated that they had no souls. He called these people as “i-Pod people”. These “i-Pod people” were unaware of social cues and behaved strangely in public places like “bumping into others”. Whenever these “i-Pod people” listened to music, they forgot where they were. They tapped their fingers according to the music which they were listening to, and made odd “tuneless squawks”. If somebody called them, they wouldn't respond. He admitted that he was also one among these “i-Pod people”.  For listening to music, he depended on a Walkman at first, then an MP3 player and later an i-Pod.

            Andrew Sullivan felt that the trend of using the i- Pod was increasing tremendously. One could see “i-Pod people” in airports, roads and subways. When one observed them, one would feel that they were like lifeless souls who were missing the everyday conversation,  other's talk and observation.

            Then  Andrew Sullivan pointed out that though technology had given us everything, it isolated everyone from society. It was also diminishing an individual's multiple perspectives. For instance, an individual got his/ her favourite news from blogs, favourite music from satellite radio, favourite channels from TV, etc. Now everything is in the fingertip of an individual. Thus technology had given us a world where an individual could reign without restrictions from anyone. People enjoyed total freedom.

            But technology had taken away so many things from an individual such as accidentally meeting a stranger, listening to a piece of music which was played by others and other's comments or opinions which triggered an individual to change his world view. Thus Andrew Sullivan tells that “i-Pod people” were a part of an isolated society where nobody was mingling.

            From the olden time onwards, people loved to hear music for getting relaxation. People, who loved a similar musical genre, shared a special bond. But today nobody knows what kind of music a person is listening. The merits which i-Pod gave to people were that an individual could listen to his/her favourite songs according to his/her mood, help to overcome problems which one would face every now and then, and refresh one's mind which would help an individual to move forward in his/ her life. Thus, according to Andrew Sullivan, technology catered an individual's interests which helped them to get whatever they wanted.

            Even though technology gave people everything, it took away a few things from them such as thinking about an overheard conversation, going back into childhood memories after seeing a child, birdsong, weather, accents and looking at other's laugh. People depended on i-Pod in order to overcome their boredom. But Andrew Sullivan said that if one did not depend on i-Pod while one got boredom, one would find alternative ways to overcome it.

            A few days back, Andrew Sullivan went for a trip, and he forgot to take his i- Pod.  At first, he was disturbed by it. Then he began to observe the surrounding and social cues, listen to the sound of the airplane, look at the taxi driver's arguments, etc. He felt that people were connected to each other. As the essay ended,  Andrew Sullivan told that everyone should come out of the hyperreal world and try to touch with the real world where one could enjoy lots of things.