I think most people would say that I’m a “people person”, I like being social. But there are times that I like being left alone with my thoughts and I meditate. On these occasions, I put on my iPod so people won’t bug me. But that doesn’t always work.
When I see other people with their headsets on, I figure they are off in their own little world and want to be left alone. The first time I was in the New York subway, I noticed people kept their eyes closed, read books/newspapers, or listen to their iPods. I thought this was great because everyone seemed to respect other people’s alone time.
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The next day I was going to Soho on the subway and wanted to find out a good place to eat. I started to look around to ask someone and noticed that basically everyone on the train was listening to their iPod. I waited for a few stops, people got on and off but even the new people were busy listen or reading; not wanting to be bothered.
That’s when I realized, what the hell is the world coming too. Here is a train full of people, in one of the busiest cities in the world and no one is social. Then I started thinking to myself, what is the world going to be like in another 10 years? With Twitter, Facebook, texting, and the rest, we should all be getting closer to one another, but just the opposite seems to occur. People are at a café sitting outside and everyone is on their phone or iPad and no one is talking to each other. What the fuck is going on here?
So now I’ve decided to make a point of listening to my iPod less and listening to people more.
Peter
I agree with you, headphones can alienate people.
But we need to respect people who want to be left alone as well…
I use haedphones sometimes at the gym or in the crowded Tokyo subway…It can be a good relaxation!
you sound like my mom
It’s a very truthful irony. What we thought would bring us together in times that we can’t be together is abused and overused and actually puts barriers up