n.
Obliviousness to one's surroundings caused by listening to an iPod or similar device.
Example Citations:
AA patrols claim MP3s, mobile phones and other high-tech devices are becoming a deadly distraction. AA president Edmund King, said: "We can't stop the march of technology, but we need to halt the iPod pedestrian, cycle and driver zombies. Whether on two feet, two wheels or four, too many people are suffering from so-called iPod oblivion."
—Mark Ellis, " The iPodestrians: 17 road accidents a day caused by people listening to gadgets: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/08/06/the-ipodestrians-115875-22468258/," The Mirror, August 8, 2010
Tonight's episode takes us upmarket, to Bel Air, opening with a terrifying domestic scene in which a father witnesses a masked intruder advancing on his daughter, who is in iPod oblivion.
—David Stubbs, " Tonight's TV highlights: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/aug/05/watch-this-natural-world-elephants," The Guardian, August 5, 2010
Earliest Citation:
Let's talk about another kind of oblivion, iPod oblivion. Police in Boston warning commuters with iPods to watch out. Thieves are targeting users who look lost in the users [sic], oblivious to what's happening around them.
—Carol Costello, "American Morning," CNN, December 27, 2005
Notes:
Similar phrases of recent vintage are: technological autism and cellphone zombieism.
Related Words:
Categories:
New words. 2013.