Portable Media Devices & End Of Boredom

Mark Cuban writes that portable media devices, whether Ipods, portable gaming devices, phones with all their features, or whatever have solved what has been a generations old nuisance for all of us, boredom. We have our little devices and now we are never bored. We dont find ourselves staring off into space unoccupied, wondering what to do. We dont find ourselves muttering about how bored we are sitting on the train, or on a plane, trying to do anything to make the time go by more quickly.Our little mobile devices are so popular because they are the ultimate, continuous distraction. They are the easiest cure for boredom.We are going to become increasingly dependent on these devices not because we think they are amazing or wonderful, but because they are there. Portable video will be successful not because it will siphon off viewing from traditional TV. Portable video sells and will sell in increasing numbers because its a better cure for boredom, and a better distraction than just music, or just a phone, or just games. Daydreaming and zoning out arent dead and gone, but they now have a soundtrack and a video. Read his full note here

My Take : The online music market is mostly aimed at the teen segment, iPod takes the cake here.Look at this - may be 30% of US population may not be using internet, may be more than 70% of world population does not use the internet. Similarly disturbing numbers would be available for the mobile as well (but mobile reach may be better). Tivo is not known inside most parts of Asia that much. The greatest challenge would be to find means of taking technology to a vast mass hitherto not used to such benefits. Criticism also abounds that with such technologies proliferating, more and more people are getting lonely and behaving detached from society. Concerns on public usage of these private gadgets also keep getting heard. Seen at another level, with so much of attention related concerns like continuous partial attention, getting more common - we have to see a limit on how much of this digital disruptions that we amy tolerate in our lives - but some would argue that iPod has a soothing effect on the minds of the listeners. There is also the thought that boredom is a choice that one makes and these gadgets give us the illusion that boredom is gone because. But with all this there is no denying that the personal electronic devices are making a huge difference to so many million lives.