Last week, a consumer news event occurred that was lightly reported, but packed seismic ramifications for both good and bad. This past January and February, Apple's iTunes Store was the biggest music retailer in the county, online or off, outpacing even the marketing giant that is Wal-Mart. The market-research firm NPD GROUP, whose NPD Music Watch survey compiles weekly unit purchases, compiled this data.
Why is this so monumental? First from a strictly "green" point of view, downloading music online versus driving to a store to buy it creates a markedly diminished carbon footprint. Second, downloaded music does not involve packaging. And third, downloading removes the need for transporting goods to a retail outlet, further decreasing the use of fossil fuels. And let's not start to calculate the savings from not having to manufacture the CDs as well.
So what's the downside? Perhaps it’s the loss of face-to-face connection between individuals in the world. So much of what we see, process, and experience these days is through the computer. And as efficiency with both energy use and personal interaction increases, there is a concurrent decrease in the amount of time we actually spend with one another. It’s as if the digital era that so brilliantly threads us all together somehow creates a digital divide as well.
There are no easy answers to be found, perhaps only something to ponder.
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