[pmoriarty]

In my experience, people are already almost completely isolated even without headphones.

With or without headphones, the only strangers who come up and talk to me are people who want something from me, like beggars, people seeking directions, or people trying to sell me something. As someone who's not very social around strangers, I rarely initiate conversations with strangers myself.

Listening to my own music just makes getting through the world more pleasant for me. It doesn't make me significantly more isolated.

[hombre_fatal]

Here are some initiatives taken by transporation organizations to encourage people to talk to each other, like introducing a "chat carriage" on the train: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/public-transport-ch...

For example:

> The results showed that those asked to chat felt far more positive about their journey than those who kept to themselves, and that the longer people talked for the better they felt.

A world where the only people who talk to you outside your fortress are beggars, scammers, and salesmen is a sad one. Not to say you're always ready for a conversation with a stranger every time you leave your house, but there is also a chance of serendipity in the most unlikely exchanges.

I met a woman I dated for a year at a supermarket. This woman next to me was spending a lot of time comparing fruit, like gently tapping them and squeezing them. She hadn't even put one in her basket yet. I stood across from her and put some plums up to my ears as if to listen to them, mockingly, which started a conversation that we picked up that evening at a bar. It's something I think about when I err on the side of not interacting with those around me since it was a bit out of character for me.

It's one of the spices of life.

[filoleg]

The chat carriage idea actually sounds really cool. Like, there are some days where I feel like I would love to use it, but there are definitely others when I just need to rest in some piece. But given that we are all in the same space on the bus right now (without this chat carriage idea implemented), I always default to being as silent as possible to give other people the opportunity to not be bothered. Hell, I even reject all phone calls I receive while on the bus.

[StuffedParrot]

The homeless actually make great conversation and it humanizes them. If you don’t give cash, at least don’t alienate them.

Granted it can be very emotionally draining.

[cartoonfoxes]

I take it you have never been assaulted by an angry drunk before.

[ska]

> I take it you have never been assaulted by an angry drunk before.

That's a non-sequitur. Regardless, if you are looking to get assaulted by an angry drunk talking to homeless people isn't a very effective method. For best success try pick up bars with an 20-30 year old clientele, or just accost someone on the street who is already visibly drunk and antagonistic; they are (unintuitively?) unlikely to be homeless but will often happily have a go at you.

[grawprog]

No, but I didbsit there and listen to a really drunk dude sitting on the street once who'd just broke his 10 year sobriety after coming home and finding his wife fucking s room full of men about a half hour before I ran into him. He was about halfway through a 40 of whiskey by that point.

[coldtea]

No, but they have been snarked at by forum commenters and their assumptions. Should the parent distrust every person commenting from now on?

[StuffedParrot]

Dude I live in the tenderloin.

[Ancalagon]

You and the parent both have excellent points, and I frankly agree with both of you. I think, at least in the US, many public spaces are trending towards isolation of the population. Specifically I'm thinking of gyms (where its no longer OK to interact with someone with headphones on), or bars/clubs where the music is literally so loud you cannot talk to someone standing right next to you. I believe all of this is in some way related to us becoming more lonely/depressed, and of course we self-medicate in the only way we know how: consumption.

[filoleg]

I think all of those have their place.

There are loud bars/clubs you go to with your friends at times when you want to let all your energy out and just drink, dance, and listen to music without having to worry about carrying a conversation.

There are also quieter and more fit for socializing bars and music venues, where you wanna go to shoot shit with the bartender, have a conversation with your friend you haven't seen in a while, or just relax and talk to people in your neighborhood who tent to visit that place often while chilling with a drink.

And I love the fact that in most cities I've lived in within the US, there are plenty of both, because I definitely like to utilize all of those options. More choices is always better.

The only example of yours I heavily disagree with is the gym one. It isn't a proper place for socializing imo, assuming you are talking about the weightlifting/cardio stuff. Team sports areas like basketball court or a soccer field (where I see a LOT of socializing happening) are a completely different story, however.

[Godel_unicode]

Alternatively, those are all examples of refusing to allow vaguely annoying extroverts to force their views of how the world should be on everyone around them. I just want to drink/lift/eat, please stop talking to me.

[pixelbash]

Funny, I have polar opposite opinions about those examples. I hate loud music in bars because I love to have deep random conversarions, but the last thing I want in the gym is someone talking to me.

[psychomugs]

Just like automating away cashiers, an increasingly isolated population is something Japan's been doing that the US is just starting to catch up to. A lot of it could be chalked up to cultural differences, but something feels off when you're in one of the most densely-populated cities and striking up conversations with strangers is taken as a big faux pas. I'm still a graduate student and I've been on campuses for a while, and the increasing normalization of walking while looking down at your phone is reaching preposterous levels to where I would rather bump into someone glued to their screen before I move out of the way for their sake. I fear the day that mouth masks to further shield away interactions comes to the West.

[partyboat1586]

You can talk to people in loud clubs, you just have to shout in their ear. Guys who are trying to pick up girls do it all the time though I've always thought it was too much effort. The smoking area is my favourite place in bars and clubs because people there are more social and no one feels pressured cos they can leave when they finish their cig or stay for another. Shame I quit smoking, there needs to be a healthy alternative that's not vaping. Vaping doesn't work because it has no natural end point.

[coldtea]

>With or without headphones, the only strangers who come up and talk to me are people who want something from me, like beggars, people seeking directions, or people trying to sell me something

In the US maybe. In other parts of the world it can be quite different...