Dave Pell talks about social impact of the Walkman:
The Walkman and its offspring, such as the iPod, completely changed the way we experience music. And even more compelling, these devices also had a huge impact on the way we interact (or don’t interact) with each other. Before the Walkman, listening to music was quite often something we did together. Headphones and portability changed that. The very same sounds that had been a cornerstone of our social experience suddenly transformed millions of us into isolated walking zombies.
I imagine this is a paragraph many people can identify with:
I’ve known my wife since we were in high school. We’ve been married for more than a decade. And we’ve never once looked at each other and said, “They’re playing our song.” And after talking to a few other couples, I don’t think we’re all that unique. She has her songs. I have my songs. Our only modern equivalent to having a shared song is when one of us retweets the other.