Do you remember the Sony Walkman? Then you are dating yourself. The Sony Walkman turns 35 this month. I remember how excited I was to be able to purchase a Walkman and I loved being able to put on the headphones and listen to my music – wherever I was, doing whatever I was doing, and no one else could hear it (and therefore tell me to “Turn down that music.”) I could immerse myself in my music bubble and disappear into the lyrics. I loved it. For that reason I am happy to say Happy Birthday Walkman.
Of course, the Walkman led on to the Ipod and headphones turned into earbuds.The Walkman was the beginning and it was an invention that opened up the opportunity to carry your music around with you and to have private concerts tucked into your pocket or attached to your belt.The Walkman is just one example of a small invention that triggered a profound change in our social interaction and experience.
Author and theologian Phyllis Tickle has written over 3 dozen books. In her books “The Great Emergence” and “Emergence Christianity” she discusses the changes of modern society and how they are effecting the church. The Sony Walkaman is one example she gives as a part of “the cascade of changes” that have effected how we live. She says the impact of the Walkman, making music available at any time in any place, meant that people no longer felt the need for gathering in concert halls or churches to hear music played. She says this small but significant device shifted the population’s interaction with one another and the communal experience of corporate worship where music was high-profile. At one time people would go to church to hear music performed, now they just turn on their Ipod where they will hear better quality music then they would have ever heard in their church sanctuary.
Tickle points to this as just one impact, but a significant one, that has changed how we live and the role the church plays. So Happy Birthday Walkman – your impact was bigger than anyone could have predicted.
