Tune In, Turn On, Get Robbed

Last week there were a lot of numbers flying around regarding subway crime, and none of them seemed to add up. Subway crime is down (this month, compared to a year ago). Subway crime is way down (compared to last month). Subway crime is up (in general compared to last year). Violent subway crimes are down (again, compared to last month). Cellphone thievery is up; iTheft-theft of iPods-is way, way up.

Most reports focused on those damn sticky-fingered kids and their techno-snatching ways. It's a terrible shame, these iPod and cellphone robberies, it was said, because those little toys can be so very expensive. And if you don't report the loss to your cellphone company immediately, you'll be held responsible for whatever calls those rotten thieves make. Terrible, just terrible.

But there is another way of looking at this.

With last year's explosion in iPod sales, New Yorkers are now able to bring the newfound obliviousness of the cellphone era underground with them in a way cellphones don't allow (yet). As a result, the subways, which used to be arenas of forced communality, are becoming arenas of feigned isolation. Beyond things like reading or dozing, iPods (like Walkmen before them) are allowing people to block out everything going on around them. They can't tell if you're trying to get past them, they can't tell if they're blocking the doors, they can't tell if their kid is screaming. Not so long as they've got that iPod blasting the Cranberries directly into their brainstem.

But it's New York City, and you really should be paying attention. If you aren't, you're a nuisance to the rest of us, whether you realize it or not. As for those of you who insist on singing along?

With any luck, after having their second or third iPod snatched, at least a few of these people will learn that it's better to keep their ears open.