When I got to the store, I was told to report to the "tall man with the beard and iPad"-- I didn't even have the burden of learning his name. The iPad man told me that one of the "Geniuses" would be with me shortly, and in the meantime I could look around the store. I was drawn to the new iPhone 4S, and entertained myself by checking out the apps. One, by they way, was called "Airport Sounds"with its description being: "This app contains a set of various sounds which are sure to entertain you." Maybe Don DeLillo is really on to something- Being that his characters in White Noise are often comforted by sound.
By the time my "Genius" came to help me, I had almost forgotten why I was there in the first place. How could I forget that I was there because I was unsatisfied with their product? After explaining my issues I quickly learned that they had no fix for the first problem of not being able to purchase music, and that I would have to call iTunes support for that. As for my iPod, the "Genius" played around with a couple different cords to plug it into my computer with and looked at the connection port with a flashlight. All of which took less than five minutes. She then asked me, "How would you like a new iPod, no charge?" Of course I told her that this would be great.
I caught myself feeling very satisfied after leaving the store, thinking that I had even had fun. This soon went away however, when I told my dad the exciting news of getting a new iPod. He told me he wasn't surprised because Apple's profits have recently been more than $1 billion a week, that they must have more money than they know what to do with. I was then reminded of the horrible Apple factory conditions we talked about in class. How many other customers received free iPods this week? How many factory workers received a higher wage?
Why was I so easily distracted from these negative thoughts until I left the store? What does my experience reveal about the culture of consumption?
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