For the first three years of college, I was one of those people that had my noise-cancelling headphones on everywhere I went. I slapped them on, headed out the door and ignored the world around me. It gave me entertainment, stimulation and, yeah, a way for me to romanticize (or stress about) my life.
It also got me in my head. I wasn’t tuning into the chatter of Chicago and ended up feeling more isolated than anything, while commuting in a city made up of more than 2.5 million people.
Wired, wireless, over the ear — whatever it is, it’s more common than not to see commuters in Chicago listening to music (or other who-knows-what audial stimuli) while in public.
Sometimes when I ride public transit, I’ll calculate who has headphones on and often find that about 70% of commuters have their ears occupied. This is obviously based on my own lackluster and unscientific research, but the number stays consistently the same.
This prevalent behavior hooks technology into our daily lives, keeping our brains digitally stimulated when they probably just need a break.
“I started wearing headphones while walking around because it was a clear signal that I didn’t want to be talked to,” said Dara Gami, a DePaul sophomore. “It’s like having a big banner above my head saying, ‘Do not talk to me.’”
Some may say that having your headphones on as a pedestrian is the equivalent to listening to the radio in your car. Our legs are our transportation, the train our vehicle, the bus a glorified carpool. Transit in the city is rarely solitary, so we come up with a way to have alone time even when we’re surrounded. But at what cost?
I chatted with another student, Alara Stewart, whose phone was recently out of commission due to water damage. Forced to face the world without music, Stewart not only noticed phone withdrawals but also that “everything was much more still.”
“Not having access to listening to music while walking to class or riding the train was very odd,” said Stewart, a sophomore who is double majoring in international studies and public policy. “It was an adjustment, but it also helped me think more clearly.”
I understand that headphones are a form of protection for many. Having your ears covered is a physical manifestation of minding your own business.
“Our school is based in Chicago, a lot is going on in the street,” said Lam Thai, a senior studying film. “Putting headphones on can distract us from a problem that’s going on. It’s a safety thing.”
I get it. I’ve had similar thoughts and have worn headphones for all these reasons.
But the more I observe the normative life around me, the more I’ve realized how even on a packed Red Line train, I’ve become part of a collective self-isolation. And it feels dystopian.
Sometimes I can’t help but think of the lost casual connections I could’ve made on transit had I not been enveloped in my own little world. So many times, I’d get on the same train car as a classmate and rather than striking up conversation, we’d both plug our ears and avoid eye contact.
I’m curious what our lives would be like if we unplugged in those opportune moments to connect with a familiar face, exchange small talk with strangers or eavesdrop on the couple next to us (I totally have never done that).
Don’t get me wrong; I’m no purist. I still dig out the wired earbuds and plug them in from time to time when I just need to muffle the din of the city — or my own buzzing mind. The latter may be the biggest reason I do it.
“I think part of the reason people wear headphones constantly is because we cannot stand to be alone with our thoughts,” Gami said. “We need to be constantly occupied, especially in the mundane task of walking or taking the train somewhere.”
I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all answer here, but I do know that balance is key. There are days I want to shut the world out and others when I want to be an active participant.
Whatever that balance may be for you, I just hope, someday, we can all be more tuned into each other.
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