"Wearing headphones is like chewing gum: Most people carry them in their pockets or purses, some claim they're bad for you, and many find them annoying and disrespectful." Gabby Zingarini's "Headphones In, World Out" discusses how today's generation use such devices to essentially shut out the world, avoid any confrontations, and give the silent message of "Leave me alone." She goes on to point out how headphones are part of the overarching problem of our reliance on technology. 

As an avid earbud user, I can definitely relate to occasionally using earbuds to block out the "annoying people." It never occurred to me that it might be considered rude or disrespectful. On the school bus, many of my classmates just listen to music via headphones. We don't talk to each other on the bus, only on school premises. It was an unspoken rule. But wearing headphones is like someone purposefully not responding to another's attempt at conversation. It might be to the user a "nicer" way of saying "I don't want to talk to you," but it leaves the talker a bit hurt. Not only do people hurt others, but also themselves in detrimenting their social skills.

Backed up by newspaper articles and data, this article shines a new perspective on something I simply viewed as a treasure. Headphones might benefit people for now, but it won't in the long run. More need to be aware of this issue in order to combat this tech overdose. Society needs to grow comfortable as communicators and listen to the world around them instead.