People Wearing AirPods Are Making Things Awkward for Everyone Else | Hacker News Reader

People Wearing AirPods Are Making Things Awkward for Everyone Else

buzzfeednews.com

20 pointsminimaxir30 comments

I can't read this article in a serious manner at all, they are trolling/joking, right?

It's not like Airpods are the first wireless device that go in your ear? We saw the same thing with bluetooth headsets in the early 2000's, and the joke/meme that became. Like that, it's just a fad that will fade over time. This is no different than being rude with any other type of headphones in your ear while talking with someone. It's not like Airpods invented someone being a rude jerk. If someone has Airpods in during a conversation, and it bothers you, be an adult and politely ask them to remove them, just like you would if they had ear muffs on and you weren't sure if they were listening. It's not that big of a deal.

Carry on, and worry about much larger problems in life than silly nonsense like this pretending to be "news."

If anything, I've found Airpods to be extremely visible given their stark white color. As opposed to darker bluetooth headpieces that I often missed.

As always, putting Apple in your headline in some way always equates to more engagement. It's been the case for at least 10 years now.

It's also Buzzfeed's business model since inception

For me its there is an important difference. Airpods are comfortable enough that I often forget that I'm wearing them when they are off. This never happened to me before because the cords were a strong enough reminder.

Because I forget that I have them on, I have many more interactions wearing Airpods than I would have with any other device. This will presumably continually get worse as the batteries and comfort improve for more people, and the Air pod could become more like a hearing aid.

> Air pod could become more like a hearing aid.

Slightly off topic, but fun fact: Airpods can already act as a hearing aid through the accessibility settings on an iPhone. I actually just learned about this the other day: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209082

Or a secret listening device, depending on where you leave your phone...

Pro tip: if you wear air pods, when addressing someone IRL reach up and take one out of one ear. People seem to take this as a sign of respect and that they have your considered attention, and seem to really appreciate the gesture. Almost like the old fashioned tipping of a hat?

As for the rest I disagree wholeheartedly with this deliberately provocative article. What I’ve noticed is when I have my AirPods in people are polite and respectful.

Say I’m ordering a cup of coffee.

The server doesn’t express the irritation they might express when I’m holding a phone to my ear.

But they express an awareness I might be occupied with something, so speak quietly and politely and minimally.

I have found a dramatic improvement in the quality of real world interactions with strangers when wearing AirPods, it’s as if each of us is reminded the other one has a whole life outside of the momentary interplay. It’s almost like they promote compassion, oddly.

It's interesting to me that minimal interaction with strangers is what you would consider polite.

What you're saying is that airpods are a barrier preventing the person from coffee from actually having a social interaction with you, and you find that indicative of compassion?

What if the server was wearing earphones, would you express compassion that he had another life beyond serving your fleeting, immediate need or would you call for his manager?

Given that airpods don't block outside noise, it's safe to interact with someone using them as if they weren't using them.

If "you" never take them out, they're a poor signal that "you" don't want to be interrupted - that's on the wearer, not everyone else.

The AirPods themselves don't block sound, but the music playing in mine keeps out distracting sounds quite nicely. It's not "safe" to interact with me as if I weren't using them. Co-workers attempt to interact with me often. I can't hear them. That's fine with me. Get my attention with a light tap on the desk, or in the company chat.

That's some pro-level pearl-clutching right there. What was it, about fifteen years ago we were pulling out fainting couches over Bluetooth headsets? "Remember when you'd see a person talking to themselves, and you just thought they were crazy?"

Or for that matter, people walked around with earphones constantly stuck in their ears long before AirPods showed up. AirPods just (perhaps) made it more common.

I walked to get lunch down the street from the office today, listening to a podcast on my way.

Midway, a stranger that I did not want to talk to tried to get my attention, gesturing up to his ear. I smiled and waved hello, pretending that I didn't know he was trying to stop me during my precious few minutes away from work.

The interaction didn't go as he had hoped, but it went exactly as I had hoped.

I tend to stick to one AirPod at a time unless I'm listening to something where I really want both audio channels which also has the added benefit of allowing you to have a backup AirPod at full charge. I assumed a lot of people were also doing this but maybe not?

I feel like audio designers were not prepared for how many people prefer a one ear device. Despite how common it was to see someone with a single headphone dangling awkwardly.

It is perfect for Pod casts, Audio Books, Phone calls and about 90% of my normal Air Pod use.

Many headsets made for phone communication are mono. Perfect for switch-board usage from the old times. One ear for the phone, the other for talking to colleagues.

I also do that, it’s great for biking too since I’ll wear just the right side so I can cars hear to my left.

As somebody that rarely wants to talk to strangers when I'm out an about, I have found that people will try to initiate conversation no matter how big and obvious your headphones are.

And even when I worked in a fast food joint in the mid 2000s people would frequently come in and order with their headphones on but music paused. So it's not exactly a new phenomenon, just maybe more widely spread.

That said it's pretty weird to wear them during a hair cut. I would be worried about them interfering or getting bits of clipped hair caught in.

Is this buzzfeed's "The Onion"?

> “Having your earphones in is the universal ‘don’t talk to me’ sign. There’s something strange about that.”

What is strange about not wanting to interact with people? It's a nice, easy way to signal that.

Are AirPods the new Bluetooth headset? It was always awkward to walk by someone in a store thinking they were talking to themselves, just to learn that they were talking on a Bluetooth headset.

Lately I find that people are walking around holding the phone flat in front of themselves even though the screen is black, using it as a speaker-phone.

Is this really different than the memes about bluetooth headphones in general? It's not so different than the things I saw over a decade ago. This isn't new.

> “I’ve always seen the barbershop as a place where people are talking and where you’re having conversations with people about your life,”

Exactly why I hate getting a haircut.

I get my hair cut at a place that from the outside looks like a traditional barber shop but once inside it's run by Thai women.

I explain what I want and then they talk amongst themselves and I can just close my eyes and relax. The only things that come up are "look good?" and "eyebrow?".

I see no reason to look for another place.

This author's assumption that the extravert's experience is the default really grates on me.

> (This article does not condone the use of AirPods during sex.)

Honestly burst out laughing at this part.

Take out your headphones when you're talking to someone. It common courtesy.

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