iPod iCrime?
moneyrelations :: Mar.05.2008
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I came across an interesting article about iPods being responsible for the recent rise in U.S. crime rate. There is no doubt that iPods have become very mainstream and the telltale white earphones can be seen dangling from a lot of ears just by walking down the street. Here are some stats:
In late 2004, Apple had sold about 5 million iPods. By the end of 2005 that had ballooned to 42 million, and in 2006 the number neared 90 million.
But is the surge in iPod popularity responsible for the jump in robbery rate?
FBI statistics show the robbery rate went from 137 per 100,000 people in 2004 to 141 per 100,000 in 2005 and 149 in 2006.
How very Freakonomics.
Well, I really don’t know if this is a huge jump or if there’s a strong correlation but I do think people pay less attention to their surroundings when they are absorbed with their gadgets.
It happened to me once.
A few years ago, I was on the bus on my way home from work. It was still light out and I was sitting by the door playing with my PDA with my little knapsack/purse on the ground by my feet. The bus stops and this punk ass kid swipes my bag from behind me and rushes out the door. The wheels in my brain turned as I had a little internal dialogue with myself. Should I run after him? I had no money in my purse and the most expensive thing I had was already in my hand. It would be a bitch to replace the ID though. What the hell, let’s go for a run.
The dude had taken off but I still had my wits about me even under stress: I looked both ways before I crossed the street running after him. No sense in being roadkill.
It had been awhile since I ran track in school but I can get a move on. Still, after only a block, I started feeling resentful. Dumbass was making me run. And why was I wasting my breath this way? Changing tactics, I did what any normal woman would do under the circumstances. I let a blood curling scream: STOP THIEEEEEEEEEEEEEF!
That made him drop my purse real fast.
I picked it up and he continued running. I made my way back to the bus which was waiting for me after I had stormed off. The driver asked if I wanted to report it but I said no. I only got the back of his head anyways.
That’s my story about gadgets and crime. The incident did leave a lasting impression on me: keep the music volume down and always be aware of your surroundings. I was a robbery attempt statistic but I needn’t have been if I had been more careful.
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I’m so glad that here on Guam these types of things are not very prevailent. I would have chased him down and beat him for good measure. That would be me out of anger. Its probably not the right thing to do, but in the heat of the moment. I’m not sure.
That sounds like the classic misuse of statistics all the statistics teachers warn about - correlation does not = causation!
Good for you to have the wits about you to get your stuff back (and be safe at the same time). I will have to remember to start screaming if that ever happens to me. The only theft I have experienced had been 2 times when my car was broken into, but nothing of much value was taken.
@ Trench
Hey, thanks for stopping by
When I relayed the story to my friends, they thought I was nuts, like what I would have done if I had caught him? Um, don’t know. But it wasn’t as if I was chasing him into a dark alley… Still, I’m glad he dropped it and we had no confrontation. Wouldn’t wanna hurt him 
@ WW
It was kind of surreal how lucid I was. I literally thought about the Oprah eps about self defense. Seriously, scream your bloody head off. The last thing they want is attention.
OMG! Oprah eps… thats something I didn’t expect…
Nah, I never get home in time to watch it after work. And Oprah’s too… white collar/book club for me. I’ll watch on a day off if I have nothing better to do. But I do still remember one piece of advice from a self defense show… if you have a car chasing after you and you’re on foot, don’t run in the same direction as the car. Run in the opposite direction because the car needs to turn around. I thought it made sense…
Freakonomics guy would say that maybe iPods are good for stealing too. There might be multiple effects.