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The AirPods Effect

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Re: The AirPods Effect

#471

Post by Mezzie »

nradov wrote: post #456
cassepipe wrote: post #348

To be fair when you live in a big city and you have to take the subway all the time, it just feels physically nice to remove the background noise whether it's the noise of the train itself or the musicians or the people asking loudly for money. I don't even have airpods, I have good old earplugs because I often too lazy to choose the soundtrack of my own life. It's not that don't want to talk to unknown people, it's…

It's not just a social or class issue. A lot of women wear headphones to discourage creepy men from hitting on them or sexually harassing them. The HN crowd skews toward young men and I think many of you don't understand that some women get this constantly on public transit.

Headphones also give an 'excuse'. Some men become really pissy and unstable if they think you're ignoring them, but if you have visible headphones, then you have the excuse of not hearing them.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#472

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

Re: The AirPods Effect

#473

Post by Enginerrrd »

stasomatic wrote: post #336
GJim wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stupidly dangerous and (in my country) illegal. Please retract your comment and don't encourage such stupidity. EDIT: Since this is being misinterpreted... Earplugs that deaden sound are fine and encouraged on a motorbike, playing music in your ears is what masks other sound and is both stupid and illegal.

Is using headphones on a bike with music on or not somehow different from driving in a Lexus with music on or not?

Yeah, it’s definitely higher risk.

When riding a motorcycle, you’ll encounter people that don’t see you almost every trip. The same is not true in a car.

Riding a bike is just a 100% engagement thing with higher risks and lower margins for error, for all kinds of reasons. And it’s not just traffic, minor pavement imperfections become relevant, the necessary skill floor is also higher. It just demands more attention, straight up.

In a car, you shouldn’t, and it’s not without risk, but you CAN occasionally get away with minor distractions: adjusting the radio, seat, etc. That just doesn’t work on a bike as well. I’m failing to properly articulate the why, but it really is fundamentally different in some ways. I’ve spent many years doing both, and the bike just demands more of your attention resources, independent of your vulnerability in the event of an accident.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#474

Post by WalterBright »

nradov wrote: post #456
cassepipe wrote: post #348

To be fair when you live in a big city and you have to take the subway all the time, it just feels physically nice to remove the background noise whether it's the noise of the train itself or the musicians or the people asking loudly for money. I don't even have airpods, I have good old earplugs because I often too lazy to choose the soundtrack of my own life. It's not that don't want to talk to unknown people, it's…

It's not just a social or class issue. A lot of women wear headphones to discourage creepy men from hitting on them or sexually harassing them. The HN crowd skews toward young men and I think many of you don't understand that some women get this constantly on public transit.

[flagged]

Re: The AirPods Effect

#476

Post by overfeed »

wafflemaker wrote: post #387
goodmythical wrote: post #374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's kind of the point the article is making though, isn't it? You're making a choice to insulate yourself from your surroundings. That choice has effects on both you and your environment. You see it as a simple salve, but the poor souls you're choosing to ignore see it as a just another bourgeoisie wall. I used to live in a prison. Headphones were a huge fighting issue. People who couldn't afford them would borrow…

In a way you're right, but what you can do comes from a significantly high spiritual development level. For an average Joe it's quite abstract and maybe even unattainable in this life. OTOH, there are people who get sensory overstimulated more easily. Add to that a foreign place, lot of people and chaos around, and even a neurotypical individual can feel anxious. Putting on headphones and playing Chopin is much more…

I believe we wouldn't have a tenth of the chaos we are currently experiencing if people talked to their neighbors and fellow commuters more.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#477

Post by SoftTalker »

XorNot wrote: post #449
goodmythical wrote: post #394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>For example with conservative family-first suit types "hey man, how're the kids?" "Is your wife recovering from [illness] you mentioned last week?" "man, have heard the music on the radio lately?" "what kind of music do you like?" "can I ask you a personal question, what was the hardest part of getting the success you have?" "did you know you wanted to be a boss/manager when you were a kid? No? Oh, you wanted to be…

"SpaceX is a fraud. Its all about control. That's why in the future you'll be eating bugs because it's Greta Thunberg". I am only partly paraphrasing actual conversation with my father in-law. I cannot stress enough that what you think will work here doesn't : literally every topic will be pivoted towards a rant about which groups are destroying the future (all of them), or how it's all a conspiracy or how they are p…

It's equally tiring hearing about how every problem in society is a result of capitalism and how conservatives are all facists and are scheming for a way to bring back concentration camps and want to deport everyone who doesn't have three generations of native-born ancestors.

There are fringe kooks at all edges of the spectrum and they are all tiring and boring.

But most guys on the train wearing a suit are just normal people who have to dress like that because their work requires it.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#478

Post by moooo99 »

joxdosba wrote: post #193
inigyou wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody uses it, it's too crowded

People mostly use it because they can’t afford the better options. McDonald’s is also extremely popular, as are Coca Cola and Bud light.

I extensively use public transit. While the cost savings are certainly nice, it is just soo much more comfortable.

Today I spent half my workday on a train going +200km/h to visit my parents. The alternative would have been an excruciating 6 hour car drive

Re: The AirPods Effect

#479

Post by gib444 »

Totally relatable. It's not just earphones. Put your phone and headphones away and then observe people. Every one except the 70 plus will be hooked on their phones. That 20 second wait between getting up to get off the train and waiting for the doors to open? Pull out your phone

Every desire for entertainment, education, distraction is filled by the phone. You're obselete.

You can spend hours in an extremely crowded city constantly bumping into people and feel the most alone you've ever felt in your life

Hyperindividualism has won

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