Initial Project statement - 22 January 2008

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Portable Problem or Potential? Music Players in Christian Society By Trifon Heney

Portable devices have proliferated in the last five years of our society. In particular, the music player has caused tremendous shifts in how people view music. The specific problem is that while the Christian group (the church body) emphasizes the community and interaction within itself, the music player is seen to increase the tendency towards isolation. The goal of this study is to document shifts in music and society within a Christian group (Campus for Christ) and determine whether music players can exist in such a community without damaging it, and what steps to take to preserve the community should the devices pose a threat to its integrity. It will also examine the motives for purchasing music, what music they have, and if this has any connection with their subculture.

There has been a shift from music-event to music-commodity upon the digitization of music, even moreso than with the LP, cassette or CD. The average person now has much more music than ever before. The ease of dissemination creates a much greater market. From casual observation, it seems number of people with a portable music player (particularly since music players are now found on almost all cellphones) exceed the number who do not.

I will spend time recording notes in the field about several things: Who is using a music player? What are they listening to? Why are they listening to it? There will be questionnaires and surveys that will be used as a sampling mechanism to determine in a larger scope what kinds of music are being listened to, how prevalent these music players actually are, and which types of music players are favoured. I will also conduct an interview with someone representative of the group that will address more detailed questions dealing with the relation of music and social structure, suitability of music within the subculture, and the potentials and pitfalls of the portable music player in general. This will be supported by audio of digital-only releases and the discussion of the internet as a dissemination tool for music, and photographs and video of how (or whether) people behave differently while using a portable music player.

The outcomes will be used to determine patterns and trends in music usage in Christian society, their effects on human behaviour, and the overall potential either for better of worse that the devices ultimately possess. The questions themselves will direct further research for a method to either harness the potential of the portable music player for the best possible outcome, or a means to reconcile or curb the negative effects that it has on this subculture.

[Since this initial report, I have reviewed some of the implicit assertions that I was making in this statement, mainly that the portable music data player tends to have a negative impact. Furthermore, I have discovered that there is some huge potential being exploited from this device for a variety of situations. It seems that Portable Problem? is no longer accurate. That isn't to say that there is absolutely nothing negative about it; rather, it says that the positive seems to outweigh the negative by a very large margin. More experiences will be forthcoming that will either confirm or challenge this re-statement. Made 25 February 2008]