[bittercynic]

I think this gets at the lack of semi-social venues.

There's something special to me about events where there is some expected activity to engage with, so keeping your head down and concentrating is fine, but some people are open to socializing as well. It takes the pressure off those of us with weak social muscles, and makes it OK to socialize for a bit, and then do an individual activity for a bit to recover. And if there's someone you don't want to interact with it's easier to make yourself unavailable without making it a personal rejection.

Using earbuds to signal that you're not open to social interaction is fine, but it can be a bummer if everyone's doing that.