The next time you’re walking down the street, at the gym, in an elevator, out for a run, or even at your local coffee shop, look at the people around you and tell me what you see. What I notice is the ubiquity of people with headphones in their ears. Though not quite in the majority yet, these wired people are definitely a growing minority.
If you follow my Psychology of Technology posts, you know that, though I’m pretty tech savvy and connected, I have some real concerns about the impact of new technology and media on basic aspects of the human condition such as thinking, decision making, and relationships. And I find the widespread presence of headphones in situations that ten years ago would have been rare more than a bit troubling.
Let’s be realistic. New technology will always insert itself into our lives (no pun intended), but, unfortunately, technological advancement occurs at such a rapid pace these days that considering its impact on us usually occurs in the rearview mirror. By then, the technology is well entrenched and it’s likely too late to alter its invasive trajectory in our lives. Admittedly, music through headphones is really not new technology with the Sony Walkman dating back to 1979, but the size, capacity, and low cost of music players since the advent of digital storage and multi-use devices, such as smartphones, has made it more available and practical for frequent and widespread use. I wonder whether the increased presence of headphones in the ears is due to these technological developments or a more insidious influence from changes in our social fabric.
The question that I keep coming back to is: Why the need to be constantly tuned in (to whatever people are listening to) and tuned out (of the world around them)?
