i:me generation

Ladies and Gentleman, today’s question…

‘Have we become so obsessed with one of the major icons of our day that it has come to represent more than the product itself?’

The clue to the product is of course in the title. The innovative ipod range with its nano, shuffle, classic and touch models has spawned a whole industry for Apple which has since launched its beautifully designed iphone.

My interest however (outside of owning one these objects of desire) is with the ‘I’ at the front of the range. What does it mean or represent? I’ve had a few guesses at: information, intelligent, inspirational, innovative… I could go on. Maybe, without realising it these innovators in design and creativity have actually captured a predominant mood of our times where ‘I’ represents what it states – me.

I was thinking about this recently when considering one of Stephen Covey’s ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’. Habit five is: Seek first to understand, then to be understood. I’m not sure how well such a habit fits our prevailing culture, but I am certain about its importance in terms of building consistent and meaningful relationships. I must turn from I to you, or, as Jesus explained it in terms of his life. ‘I have not come to be served, but to serve.’

Our celebrity culture appears to be dominated by the need to be understood, probably based on the notion that to be understood is to be accepted – to belong. And is that not something we all crave? However, if our belonging is rooted in a personal obsession with ‘me’ then it is in danger of imploding. For our self esteem and worth to be formed by fashion, popularity and the opinions of others is a rotten way to live. We would all do well to take a moment to reflect on how much the ‘me’ generation is affecting us and make sure that we have something more than simply ‘I’ at the front of our name.