Headphones and Alienation

"My child, is this the queue for taxis to Rivonia?" an elderly woman asked me a few months back. I told her that indeed that was the line. She proceeded to the back of the queue which had become very long. As she walked away from me, I began to ask myself why the woman had chosen to ask me instead  of the 7 or so people who were at the beginning of the line. Why had she found me the best person to ask about the taxi.

This question kept eating me up, I am one person who reads a lot into every situation. My first thoughts, which were very wrong, had been that maybe I had the most inviting expression on my face. It was after all a Monday morning and most people tended to be very grumpy at 6:30am.

After a bit of observation, I discovered that her reason had been simple, I was the first person from the beginning of the line who did not have headphones! That to her meant that I was available to listen! This observation got me pondering about the impact which headphones have heard in alienating individuals as well eroding our tradition. Anyone who has used public transport in South Africa will know that often when the more mature members of our society get into the taxi, they usually just greet who ever is already sitting in the taxi. Because of our headphones however this is often met with silence as people are engrossed in their own little spaces, listening to their music. The same applies in our neighbourhoods, when we were growing up, it was customary to greet who your neighbours and anyone whom you knew and happen to meet as you walked up or down the streets. This was a way which people connected with one another.

With the cellphone now becoming more and more multi-purpose and people able to store music and whatever else they need on it, my fear is that more and more people, especially the youth will become alienated and isolated from their community and absorbed in a small utopia they create for themselves. My observations on the morning I mentioned above go a long way to prove this. You see, when we finally got onto the taxi, people only interacted as they passed the taxi-fares to the driver and as soon as that was settled, the headphones were tucked in place and were only removed when one wanted to tell the driver that they had reached their destination and wanted to get off. Headphones to me are a clear "Do not disturb" sign and often people miss out on a lot of things happening in their environment because of them. I bet if you asked one of these people what colour dress the person sitting beside them was wearing they would have never known because they were locked away from their environment.

Call me old fashioned, but I think once in a while it would be good if you would walk around your neighbourhood without your headphones and reconnect with what is happening around you. I am convinced that if you do this, you will be surprised at how much you will enjoy your surroundings. It would also be good for someone to walk up to you without hesitation and ask for directions without fearing that they are disturbing you. We are after all social beings and are supposed to interact with those we meet where necessary. These are just my thoughts....