The digital age has provided us with countless benefits, one of which is simply to enjoy music anywhere, at any time. But is this unbridled access to music really a good thing?

It’s easy to romanticize music as a sacred form of art. One gets a special feeling when picking up a record, a CD or even a cassette from a record store and going home to give it a listen, but this can get you only so far. The real beauty of our access to music is sheer variety.

Consider for a moment that Pullman has only one store that sells current records, and its selection is rather sparse. Deadbeat Records in Moscow has a wider selection, but no record store has everything.

The vast selection available on the internet caters to everyone. Fans of the mainstream and fringe alike have equal opportunities to indulge in their musical interests. That being said, the internet opens avenues of discovery – it’s a place to find genres that go without notice in mainstream culture.

Not every town has an alternative college radio station or a specialty record store. And yet the folks in Ritzville can be exposed to new strains of electronic music being made in the U.K. This kind of long-range transmission enriches people’s musical palettes by introducing them to cultures other than their own.

On the other side of all this, we sometimes take our fondness for music a little too far. We can listen at any time, and so we often do – while walking, biking, driving or taking the bus.

This might seem like we’re becoming less social, but I think it’s unlikely we would socialize in these scenarios anyway. Earbuds might add a layer of difficulty to starting a casual conversation, but they certainly don’t rule it out.

Granted, you’re not necessarily wrong if you interpret headphones as giant “Do not disturb” signs.

As I was saying, our access to music isn’t bad across the board. The most casual of listeners can explore genres they’ve never even fathomed. Small-time artists get easy publicity and more recognition, while household names can be found with a few clicks.

We live in the information era, and music is only a small piece of the pie. Our vast and growing technological platform connects us to our musical passions, and I see nothing wrong with that.