The Boat vs Fish Dilemma
Have headphones blurred the line between immersion and disconnection?
Last month, I signed up to run a half marathon. Having never run a proper race before, I started to imagine what the atmosphere on race day would be like. One of the things that puzzled me was whether I should wear my headphones or not while running. I’m used to running with headphones and listening to audiobooks or sometimes music as a way to distract myself and prevent me from overthinking my run. Yet, I imagined that a race was an amazing experience to be a part of and wanted to enjoy it fully. Though I wasn’t expecting it to be as festive as the New York marathon, I imagined that there would be music, animations, people cheering etc.
Like many people, if you ever catch me walking in the street, jogging or in the subway, chances are I’ll have my headphones on. It’s pretty common nowadays, isn’t it? When I started writing this article in the subway (with my headphones on 😉) I counted that 7 of the 11 people in front of me were using earphones or headphones.
While the main criticism regarding phones has been that people “stare at them”, I would argue that just “as bad” is the fact that people listen to them. Why? Simply because it brings a whole new immersive experience. Sometimes in the subway, or while running, I catch myself…
