Posted on 06/06/2019 6:32:37 AM PDT by Red Badger
Small, snug, and unyoked from laptop or phone, AirPods are easy to wear for hours at a time, without a second thought.
This, BuzzFeed News recently declared, is “Making Things Awkward for Everyone Else.” All-day AirPod wear can make social interactions clumsy and uncomfortable: Has the AirPod wearer hung up the call or turned off their music? The person on the other end of the interaction doesn’t know. Particularly in situations that require some sustained face-to-face communication—ordering coffee or crossing paths with a co-worker—wearing AirPods and ignoring others, intentionally or not, can be a jerk move, BuzzFeed News concludes.
But something’s missing in the lamentation over the Apple buds and their erosion of social norms. There’s actually a very good reason for wearing AirPods all the time, even at the risk of offending someone: to safely ignore street harassers.
The currency of street harassers is attention—they want it, and they act as if they’re entitled to it. Leaving your AirPods in while ordering at Starbucks is rude, because the barista at the counter is owed some common courtesy. Wearing them on your commute to pretend you didn’t hear that nasty comment is not, because the harasser isn’t owed anything at all.
I wear my Apple EarPods, the classic kind with cords, for this purpose. A familiar gut feeling, the kind sharpened over years of simply existing as a woman in the world, told me I probably wasn’t alone. When I put the question to Twitter, asking users whether they wear their AirPods—or any headphones—in part because they want to tune out unsolicited attention from strangers, I heard from nearly 100 people, mostly women. Twitter is not a representative sample of the United States, let alone people who wear headphones, but a clear theme sounded through the responses: Wearing headphones made
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
Ping!.....................
Wearing your earphones all the time is gay.
The Atlantic?
You mean that third-grade level mag for folks who really shouldn’t get pat high school?
Turbocharging those cats and boxed wine, I see.
I mean-they will cruise right past you and not greet you if you say hello-and to them, that's OK
In fact it's rude. Nothing justifies that conduct in an adult or anyone else.
I can't wear AirPods in public, anyway - they fall out too easily, :)
I wear hearing aid, so Airpods and such are ‘out’ for me. But I do get the gist of the story.
Being a hearing aid wearer I have a built-in excuse for ignoring street hawkers and panhandlers. I just point to my hearing aid and shake my head and they go away......................
when i go walk i wear ear buds so it looks like i am listening to music. so i do not engage with anybody if i don’t want to.
I was in Detroit, at around 2 a.m. walking to my hotel from GreekTown. I was pretending to be on a cell phone call and I was STILL harrassed by street people for money. I had to rudely point out that I was on a phone call and to get lost. Normally I’d politely refuse (I never give money to people unless I know their story), but they needed to be incentivized to leave me alone.
They remind me of those in-ear blue tooth devices for one ear to use for phone calls. They looked “cool” at first. Now they look dumb. Same with these things.
BTW, the day is very close where all of your electronics will be recharging while on your body. Wireless recharging is coming on with a vengeance.
But the problem with censorship is that you also miss the information content beyond the troublesome syntax. That is, your earbuds filter out the sexist loser but also a bad guy about to attack you.
Many people especially those carrying concealed firearms practice situational awareness all the time. The writer is effectively promoting situational ignorance, which is likely more dangerous than listening to a few stupid guys.
Oh, and it's worth mentioning...the writer is based in DC, and all the bad episodes relayed in this article...all happened in Blue Cities...I'm just sayin'....
And wearing anything that plugs your ears (hearing aids are the opposite) is bad for situational awareness.
Exactly. That is the point of the story, which apparently people don’t read.............
Driving my 4000 lb sedan behind a blissfully ignorant drooling moron wearing these things and walking down the middle of the through way. I followed for a bit to see if he would become remotely aware of looming death behind him. Nope. I passed him quickly and closely. It appeared to startle him, but I don’t believe he learned anything. They even have a little joke: how can you tell if someone is really interested in you? They take out BOTH earbuds when talking to you.
they aren’t shoved in tight! it just makes me look unapproachable.
BTW i have a crazed liberal lady neighbor who has yelled at me to remove my plugs so she can speak with me. She thinks its rude that i walk but don’t stop to chat. I DON”T want to speak with her.
I expect in the future to read of this writer being hit by a bus or train while walking in this condition.
And wearing anything that plugs your ears (hearing aids are the opposite) is bad for situational awareness.
After hearing that, I actually started walking down the street, imagining I’ve got a nice .45 in a holster.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.