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The AirPods Effect

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Re: The AirPods Effect

#51

Post by walrus01 »

HDBaseT wrote: post #47
walrus01 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a really big and busy city it's emotionally exhausting and not reasonable to have an interaction with everyone near you. The only way a lot of people can tolerate being packed into busy public transit systems on a daily basis is to intentionally ignore each other to a certain degree. It's essentially the same unspoken etiquette rule as what you're socially expected to do if riding a crowded elevator. Go commute by…

and people still try and suggest public transport is great, when its a hellhole..

It really depends, I would much rather travel by NYC subway or Vancouver SkyTrain or Seattle light rail if my origin and destination are within walking distance. It's the least horrible option in many cases. Good luck to anyone's stress level and pocketbook trying to commute by car in much of NYC and pay $550 a month for parking.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#52

Post by j-bos »

chasd00 wrote: post #36
nozzlegear wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That just sounds like another version of what the author is talking about: using [device] to avoid human interaction.

The only interaction you’re missing in ops post is politely asking them to turn it down and being told very aggressively to “shut the fuck up!”.

Or getting killed for it.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#53

Post by bko »

nozzlegear wrote: post #26
MBlume wrote: post #2

I'd much rather be surrounded by people wearing earbuds than have people watching tiktoks through their phone speakers on the subway

That just sounds like another version of what the author is talking about: using [device] to avoid human interaction.

I don't think that's it. I think highly anti-social behavior is often deliberate, looking for someone to challenge you. An exertion of power. That's why pretty much everyone learns to ignore the behavior and not say anything.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#54

Post by basisword »

fundad wrote: post #27
tptacek wrote: post #5

I don't remember any time in my life where it ever felt normal to me to randomly talk to strangers. I went to London when I was a teenager and was made uncomfortable by how chatty the cab drivers were. Later, I worked at a startup and my boss was preternaturally gifted at chatting up strangers, which he did habitually in every setting we were in when we traveled; on the plane, on the bus from the airport, &c. I remem…

Agreed. These people seem to be panicking that our precious society is suffering because of choices people are making for themselves when that’s just what society is. If they benefit from talking to more people, go ahead and enjoy the benefits. They aren’t owed anything. I’ll talk to strangers when it makes me feel good. But most of the time I try avoid inviting weirdos to complain about minorities or marginalized pe…

>> I try avoid inviting weirdos to complain about minorities or marginalized people from someone who has driven away anyone close to them.

I would suggest that it's your avoidance of talking to strangers that makes you think this is how a lot of them think. And it kind of proves the point that society can suffer because of it. If you went out tomorrow and talked to 100 random strangers for 10mins I'd be surprised if any of them complained about minorities.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#55

Post by bananamogul »

nozzlegear wrote: post #26
MBlume wrote: post #2

I'd much rather be surrounded by people wearing earbuds than have people watching tiktoks through their phone speakers on the subway

That just sounds like another version of what the author is talking about: using [device] to avoid human interaction.

I remember in the 70s and 80s people on buses and subways reading magazines and newspapers. The idea that electronic devices have ushered in some age where humans want to interact with each other less is a myth I think.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#56

Post by bsder »

tptacek wrote: post #5

I don't remember any time in my life where it ever felt normal to me to randomly talk to strangers. I went to London when I was a teenager and was made uncomfortable by how chatty the cab drivers were. Later, I worked at a startup and my boss was preternaturally gifted at chatting up strangers, which he did habitually in every setting we were in when we traveled; on the plane, on the bus from the airport, &c. I remem…

It's one thing to isolate against strangers in a subway. It's another thing to be goddamn oblivious in a shared space like a grocery store--to take a random (not) example. It's getting to the point that I have to body up to people to get them to take notice that they're blocking a half dozen of us.

I also do agree with the comment that airpods do seem to get in the way of the most basic of social etiquette. Simple "please" and "thank you" are increasingly rare since you can't recognize the cues when your ears are full of something else.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#57

Post by cma »

nozzlegear wrote: post #26
MBlume wrote: post #2

I'd much rather be surrounded by people wearing earbuds than have people watching tiktoks through their phone speakers on the subway

That just sounds like another version of what the author is talking about: using [device] to avoid human interaction.

Newspapers have probably been used for this on subways for this as long as subways have been around. Walkmen in the 80s.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#58

Post by renjimen »

galleywest200 wrote: post #41
jvican wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The EU is large and most importantly very diverse. Pretty much all the West and South of Europe has a very strong small talk culture. You shall not stereotype a country, and even less so a political and economical union of countries.

The US is larger than Europe and importantly very diverse, a melting pot you could say. You will find people in the South are far more talkative than people in the Northwest. The “Seattle Freeze” is real and I believe that it does not exist to the same extent in the South.

Just pop over the border to Canada from Washington state and they thaw right out!

Also, nit, but Europe has ~2x the population of the States, and definitely more cultural and linguistic diversity.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#59

Post by karpovv-boris »

I did notice the self-isolation effect of wearing any headphones a long time ago. Now, after a few years of using AirPods and finally switching back to cheap cable headphones only for work calls, it actually helps a lot for my brain to register context changes much more easily. And if you have adhd I highly recommend trying to do the same.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#60

Post by bananamogul »

chasd00 wrote: post #36
nozzlegear wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That just sounds like another version of what the author is talking about: using [device] to avoid human interaction.

The only interaction you’re missing in ops post is politely asking them to turn it down and being told very aggressively to “shut the fuck up!”.

https://youtu.be/D1GyHQiuneU
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