"Maybe the danger of digital culture to young people is not that they have hummingbird attention spans but that they are going deaf." In the recent New York Times Magazine article, Virginia Heffernan argues that the ongoing abuse of headphones is causing several problems for todays youth. Not only is the blasting of music through headphones detrimental to teenage health, but it also creates a sort of escapism that limits their ability to connect with others and their surroundings. Ultimately any real awareness to surrounding noises or movements is limited, making it harder for individuals to enjoy their private auditory experiences.
Created more than a century ago, headphones served a much different purpose than they do today. Giving a detail account of this shift in purpose over time, by using sources of historical facts, Heffernan exemplifies how they are being utilized in a rather ironic way. Originally implemented during World War II, headphones were used in order to block out crowd noise and hear sermons. Workers and soldiers greatly favored the ability to mute noises of machinery/artillery while simultaneously receiving orders from another source through the wire. From this information it is clear that headphones have always been a "technology of submission (to commands) and denial (of commotion)" however nowadays they are solely used for entertainment, and are being maxed out to their highest volumes, tearing apart the eardrums of many.
The inclusion of factual evidence on the history of headphones shows a much more drastic change in the invention than if Heffernan were to simply state how they are being utilized today. Headphones are packed with technology, changing the way music is heard and envisioned. The concept of actually "hearing" however is limited, as in exchange for the music the ability to truly be a part of the surrounding moment is constrained. It can be simply stated that "headphones work best for people who need or want to hear one sound story and no other."
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