Have you ever tried talking to someone only to discover they haven’t heard a word you’ve said because they’re using Bluetooth earbuds?
Researchers say such encounters are fraying our ability to communicate with others and are driving feelings of loneliness and isolation in our high-tech society.
Take Joe Waters, CEO and co-founder of the independent social research nonprofit Capita.
“I live in close proximity to Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, and what we witness every day is everyone who is walking to and from classes with headphones or AirPods in, not talking to one another,” Mr. Waters told The Washington Times. “And we know from our study with Harvard … and other studies that Gen Z, 18- to 29-year-olds are the loneliest generation.”
“The simple act of wearing earbuds … is causing potentially irreparable damage to ourselves psychologically, emotionally, and socially,” psychologist Jim Taylor said in a recent article in Psychology Today.