Dear Apple, Bring Back the iPod Not for Nostalgia but for Parents Who Want Their Kids to Love Music and Audiobooks Without Social Media Attached
Bring back the Walkman spirit for 2026, not a dopamine casino disguised as Spotify.
The Sony Walkman came out in 1979. It played cassette tapes. The Game Boy came out in 1989. It played cartridge games on a greyscale screen. The Nokia 3310 made calls and let you play Snake. The iPod launched in 2001 and held 1,000 songs. None of them connected to the internet. None of them had a feed. None of them sent a notification.
The iPhone launched in June 2007. It replaced all of them. By 2008 it had an App Store. By 2010 it had a front camera. By 2012 half of American adults owned a smartphone. By 2016 TikTok existed.
In 2004, American teens spent less than 1 hour a day on screens outside of TV. By 2023, that number was 8.3 hours. Kids ages 8 to 12 now average 4.8 hours of daily screen time, most of it on YouTube and TikTok. Teen depression among girls has risen 145% since 2010. Teen suicide in the US doubled between 2010 and 2020.
The iPod sold 450 million units. It played music, nothing else.