Overview
The first batch of Walkman “Sony Walkman TPS-L2” was introduced in the year 1979 by Sony Corp (Merritt, p.106). Notably, this cassette player was portable and came with headphones and two earphone jacks to enable two people to listen to music at once. Later, in the year 1980, Walkman stormed the U.S market and another market world over. Before the emergence of this cassette player, the world had not seen anything like it; as such, it revolutionized the way we listen to music as individuals and society at large. The discussion on gains and losses as a result of Walkman Evolution is elaborated below.
Gains
Musicians’ motivation to produce quality records
Use of Walkman as a media to listen to music gave musicians huge credit and commercial success since listeners had to buy cassettes to listen to their favorite music. As such, individuals were more aware of quality music and highly accomplished musicians of the day. Here, individuals and the entire society upheld and esteemed quality work and music authenticity. Consequently, this influenced music production to meet tastes and preferences of listeners around the world. Particularly, musicians took the time to produce quality music that would satisfy listeners' needs and also induce demand of their music.
Integration of technology as way of life
That Sony targeted different prospective customers for their products made a great impact in the life of individuals and the entire society. Here, bikers, office workers, travelers, and walkers were depicted listening to music. This implies that Walkman enhanced incorporation of technology to a person's way of life. As such, one could exercise while listening to his/her favorite must. Over time, technology has been widely accepted as part of the human way of life. Indeed, modern tools of work and research such as computers and smartphones have incorporated music as one of the key features.
Sharing culture
Walkman had two earphone jacks that allowed listeners to share their favorite music and dance to it as a group (Gopinath and Jason, p.339).This feature is quite important in cultivating a sharing culture among listeners and society. Additionally, listeners would exchange their cassettes collection with friends and neighbors. Eventually, people learn to apply this concept in other areas of life such as in helping not-well-off neighbors and giving for humanity course. Notably, human behavior is a product of environment and personality. As such, in a society where people share music, they are apt to be generous in other areas of life.
Use of technology as social status
Before Walkman was invented, technology was rarely regarded as an individuals symbol of identify and social status. However, marketing activities surrounding this electronic device gave listeners higher social status and depicted them as fashionable appearance. Therefore, it was a common practice to see youths with Walkman "bouncing" on streets to get all the attention from their peer who did not possess it at that time. From then onward, technology has been applied to classify individuals into various social classes. Indeed, this preconception is used in marketing; particularly to the young generation that adores personalizing items of value. Losses
Despite numerous benefits and gains enjoyed by individuals and society at large, there are shortcomings associated with Walkman as discussed below.
Individualism
People and families used to listen to music from radio as a group, and they would listen and dance to the tunes of their favorite music. This brought people together, and they would share on diverse issues as they listened to music. However, Walkman deprived society this enjoyment and sense sharing. Indeed, individually developed a tendency to look within and not around them when faced with challenges. Walkman brought the impression that an individual can derive happiness from personalized items. Eventually, this has brought mental health issues and individuals are now advised to look outside their circles to improve their wellness in life.
Isolation
Individuals completely shut out the world and activities around them when are on headphones; particularly, on public transport, during training and walking among other activities. This habit makes it hard for individual to interact and engage with one another. Eventually, people become more isolated and antisocial; these works against human development and community progress. This could explain the high level of workplace stress due to low levels of interaction and sharing among listeners.
Conspicuous consumption
The portrayal of Walkman as a fashion tool and way of life affected the way listeners demanded products to suit their utility. However, more people resulted to buying Walkman not as a necessity but as a way to show off and attract public attention. In the final analysis, resources are misappropriated, and people forego the more immediate need for conspicuous consumption. This led to the demand for convenience and not for necessity.
Multitasking
It was a common practice to incorporate music and still is, to most aspects of life such as preparing meals, driving, studying and exercising. However, some activities require a high level of concentration and cannot be performed optimally while listening to music. For instance, studying demands higher level; therefore, reading on Walkman lowers focus and performance of listeners. Additionally, driving requires high alertness to avert adverse effects of emergencies while driving (Rosen, Nancy, and Carrier, p.398). It is Walkman marketing that imparted this preconception that has led to increased number of accidents and road carnage.
References
Gopinath, Sumanth S, and Jason Stanyek. The Oxford Handbook of Mobile Music Studies. , 2014. Print.
Merritt, Tom. Chronology of Tech History. S.l.: Lulu Com, 2012. Print.
Rosen, Larry D, Nancy A. Cheever, and L M. Carrier. The Wiley Handbook of Psychology, Technology, and Society. , 2015. Print.
