The iPod, Apple’s flagship product and enormous global success (450 million sales) was definitively abandoned in 2022 after twenty-one years of existence. The digital music player was therefore no longer supposed to be talked about. However, it has been a few months since requests for second-hand iPods seem to be increasing, enough for Quartz magazine to ask the question.
Simple retro fashion effect? Not sure. If it appeals so much to Gen Z, it’s thanks to its simplicity. Very far from hyperconnected smartphones perpetually bombarded with notifications, the iPod would allow a return to tranquility and to simply enjoy your music, without other distractions.
This return is not so surprising and pushes us to think about the impact of current technology on our poor battered brains. It is part of a new quest on the part of young people, seeking to find a healthier and more peaceful lifestyle with their daily devices, which are now essential and indispensable.
A response to digital saturation
The iPod would embody “digital minimalism”, an object dedicated to a single activity: listening to music. No video, no “brain burp”nothing but music. Another crucial detail, iPods do not depend on the Internet. Being able to listen to your music without depending on streaming platforms can also be seen as a way of freeing yourself from certain contemporary constraints.
Finally, the return of the small portable music player is part of a trend towards a return to the physical object. Vinyl but also cassettes or CDs carry an aesthetic and an emotional value that recent, dematerialized products no longer transmit.
According to certain sociologists, this craze naturally reflects a need to declutter digitally. This would be a response to the stress produced by the omnipresence of information flows in our daily lives. By choosing a unique device dedicated to this specific activity, users regain control of their attention, without being guided by algorithms.
This phenomenon, if it spreads, could influence the future of modern technologies, pushing us to rethink the design of our digital products, even if it sometimes means going back.
Some analysts believe that this return could be lasting, but others speak more of a passing fad. Either way, know that you probably won’t be the only ones if you get the idea to go rummage through your drawers to bring out your old iPod Nano.
