731–740 of 824 posts
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Having to buy fancy headphones to solve a social problem is what makes it a class issue. That's the subtle error in the typical response.
Luckily, nobody is saying you have to buy fancy headphones.
Also, do not reply to me any further, your sarcasm is not welcome. It is incredibly rude.
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> There's a lot of women who don't want to be chatted up who wear headphones This is true, but so is the opposite! I think the most important thing is to be kind and receptive. It's fine to start a conversation with a women wearing headphones, just take it in stride and don't be weird about it if she isn't interested in talking. I do this (with men and women) a lot. It is true that women are more likely to be approac…
> It's fine to start a conversation with a women wearing headphones, just take it in stride and don't be weird about it if she isn't interested in talking. I do this (with men and women) a lot. Not sure where you're from, but where I live, headphones are a well-understood signal that someone would rather not engage in conversation at the moment. Some have been conditioned to placate the kind of people who deliberatel…
I live in a big city in the US and for myself and probably most my friend group, this rarely true. Maybe it’s because we are a bit extroverted or do work that is social. For me it’s more that I like music or a book, and just want a distraction from my commute. You can start a convo just don’t be rude and realize I might be getting off my stop soon.
> Where I live, in southwest Germany, AirPods are far less common. FWIW I live in Amsterdam (also western Europe) and anyone in the streets under 50 is wearing them, myself included. > They keep them in while ordering and paying for things in stores and supermarkets. As a GenYer I find this rude and I'll take them out any time I interact with someone. My point being that their ubiquity doesn't have to mean people bei…
> > They keep them in while ordering and paying for things in stores and supermarkets. > As a GenYer I find this rude and I'll take them out any time I interact with someone. I don't take my headphones off while paying for things in a supermarket - because you aren't really expected to talk or listen in this scenario, and the cashier doesn't want to interact with you either. But for anything more involved, like order…
Absolutely bizarre. The cashier is not some sort of robot.
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Tell me you're an American that lives in a 100% car dependent community without coming right out and saying it. Say no more, we get it.
Am European, at least in the big cities, public transport is mostly not worth using unless you are too poor to afford better options. Too crowded, too hot, there’s a decent chance of arriving at your destination drenched in sweat. Not to mention how absolutely gross the people sitting next to you will often be. I’ll happily take a few parking fines every day rather than getting in the tube.
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Agree, it definitely is rude. Saying hello, good afternoon, responding to a question about cash/card also involves communication, and with earbuds it is simply rude to the other person. If you don't want to talk to anyone, go to self-checkout or a vending machine, but cashiers are humans and not just robots scanning items.
I see nobody saying "good afternoon" in a grocery store , that's the one place where you keep interactions to a minimum. Also, self-checkouts are not always an option because at least the ones at grocery stores here never accept cash.
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> poor souls you're choosing to ignore And why exactly should I give a fuck about people who are trying to bother and inconvenience me?
The exact answer to that requires using the cognitive capacity of empathy.
What I find interesting is that the article seems to imply that wearing earbuds to isolate is somewhat "unnatural" (for lack of a better term). However it does not take into account that the kind of social interactions where people wear earbuds (i.e. loud and busy environments with many strangers, often physically closer than comfortable) is unnatural to begin with. For me, isolating myself acoustically is a way to n…
Yes! When walking along busy streets, I put my airpods on without music just to remove some of the car noise.
I purchased bone conduction headphones this year to serve as sleep headphones that work with my custom molded earplugs for sleeping. The headphones work as intended for this purpose, but I was not ready for how greatly they would change the way I move throughout the world.
These let me clearly hear music AND my surroundings. No longer do I need to decide whether I want to socialize with others or enjoy music that I love. The headphones let me do both! (While AirPods have outstanding noise transparency capabilities, speech can get muddied depending on the environment.)
Over time, I became SLIGHTLY more willing to engage in small talk with strangers. This combined with taking public transit to my co-working space (not the norm here in Houston; our transit system is criminally underrated) has improved my life much much more than I ever could have expected. (In fact, taking the bus and train in opened my eyes to how isolating driving really is. Between driving and WFH, you can go months without interacting with another human if desired. That can't be healthy. AI will make this worse.)
It is an amazing piece of technology that allows you to ignore people at will by pretending you're not hearing what they're saying if they insist. AirPods for sure do not make you more lonely. It's about your personality. Either you are an introvert or not. > “No one talks on the bus. No one greets the barista. Even in class, students are choosing to listen to music instead of their professors,” Why? Bother them for…
>> “No one talks on the bus. No one greets the barista ... > Why? Bother them for no good reason? Those 2 examples for the article are not the same situation at all... in many cultures: "No one talks on the bus" --> very good, people are here to commute and want quiet. "No one greets the barista" --> Wow, you're a POS human being. It's basic human dignity to greet the people you interact with. Try the latter in a cou…
No. While it might be nice, it is not mandatory. And no, no one is a POS just because it doesn’t say hi first. You have to be very entitled to think it is required or that you deserve it.
‘please mind the platform gap please do not eat or drink on the railway premises wear a mask don't lean against the door hold onto the handrails on escalator give way to alighting passengers don't leave your belongings unattended take out your travel card and tap for quicker entry and exit don't board if lights are flashing Molestation and taking upskirt photos is a serious offense do not meddle with the rail equipme…