[RDaneel0livaw]

For me the appeal of drive through is 100% solely just that I get to listen to my own podcasts or music. I don’t carry headphones with me outside of the house so if I get to keep my podcasts going - that’s good enough reason for me.

[gdbsjjdn]

It seems very lonely to live such a hermetic existence.

[trenchpilgrim]

What's hermetic about listening to music you like?

[gdbsjjdn]

There is a joy and psychological benefit to having minor, positive social interactions. If you are mostly seeing your partner and coworkers, or even working from home, you may not realize how little human interaction you have.

This is not to say that every McDonald's employee is a joy to be around. But it is good for your brain to smile at a stranger face to face and make a little small talk every now and then. It is also a skill you have to practice or it becomes hard to do.

[ryandrake]

This seems like simply a personal preference, which will be different from person to person. I WFH now, and I can go (and have gone) months without seeing another human being besides my family. I don't feel like this has been "bad" for my brain or for my personal joy or psychological wellbeing.

[trenchpilgrim]

Eh, I hang out with people on the weekends. While shopping I want my headphones in to block all the horrible advertising they play on the speakers.

[GuinansEyebrows]

in a sense (no pun intended), you're sealing yourself off from "the real world" when you listen to podcasts/music on headphones in public.

i used to be a major headphone user but as i've gotten older, i really don't like to isolate myself like that when in public. i've started to enjoy just living in the moment a lot more than when i was younger, and i don't like to appear as antisocial as i often feel, because i actually feel a lot better about myself when i interact with the people around me instead of gliding through life trying to avoid notice.