Is Wearing Earbuds Constantly Rude?
Ok, true confession, I wear my earbuds a lot. You will see me wearing mine at the gym, on a walk or strolling around a grocery store. I listen to…
Ok, true confession, I wear my earbuds a lot. You will see me wearing mine at the gym, on a walk or strolling around a grocery store. I listen to a ton of podcasts from all walks of life from current events, sports, entertainment and pop culture to the latest health news. It's my way of staying informed about all of the above while doing whatever tasks that come up.
You will see me wearing my earbuds at the gym as well and trust me, I am not the only one because just about everyone is wearing them or headphones. Of course when it comes to what I listen to at the gym, it's almost always music to help with motivation to get a good workout.
It makes you wonder, what did we do at the gym or in life in general before earbuds? There have been headphones going back to the transistor radio days when people would hit the beach. Back then they were called earphones and most of them came with only one ear piece.
Walk Man!
In the 80's Sony introduced the world to the Walkman, a portable device that could play radio stations and cassette tapes. They came with headphones that featured foam ear phones that eventually degrade so much that you would have to pick up another pair.
When Apple introduced the iPod that came with a pair of earbuds that were tethered together with a wire that you would constantly fumble with. The first Apple Bluetooth earbuds were introduced in 2016 and we were no longer attached to wires, yes true "wireless" earbuds arrived.
Are earbuds socially rude?
Now that just about everyone has a pair of earbuds, the question that is starting to pop up is, are we being socially rude by our desire to escape into our own heads? If you have flown in the past few years you can't help but notice that virtually everyone is wearing them in the airports and on the planes. Which can be rather irksome for the flight staff that is trying to pass information on to passengers while they are listening to anything but them.
Dr. Dan Weisel, a family medicine doctor, has observed more patients leaving their earbuds in during medical appointments, prompting concerns about attentiveness. That sounds crazy, going to a doctor's appointment and not listening them?
This behavior extends beyond medical settings, as individuals in customer-facing roles also frequently wear earbuds despite employer policies. Weisel acknowledges the evolving influence of technology on societal norms and manners, recognizing that what may seem rude to some could be a common practice for younger generations. (Newser)
