Flying Was Already the Worst. Then America Stopped Using Headphones.

Ah, we're back to the Nextel era, hooray! Which itself was caused by the fact that Nextel PTT was just more convenient to use by grab-and-talk than it was to bother opening the phone and switching to the headset speaker.

Tech bros and AirPods caused this current problem. Give a person something expensive, easy to lose, and unreliable that runs on batteries, they're going to choose the safer loud option while traveling. Plain and simple. Tech bros see it as profit, completely ignoring the societal implications because that's not their problem.

Affordable common wired headphones included with the device that don't interfere with the power jack, nor require a battery, should always be the way.

Make America feel shame again.

America Ignorant, selfish pricks, stopped using headphones.

Let's be real. You have to be pretty self absorbed to not realize how ignorant it is to walk around playing your music out loud or having a conversation on speakerphone instead of putting the damn phone to your ear.

And its not just flights. Its busses, restaurants, waiting rooms, forest trails.

I can't stand going to a restaurant and having to hear a child's tablet playing a video.

People in this country are shit pigs and they resent anyone that tells them that obvious truth.

Why does that article feel so disjointed? Tgis paragraph was especially random:

“I engaged once with a guy who had a different opinion. He was like, ‘I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s bothersome.’”

No explanation or attribution for the quote. Just sandwiched in there

If it's on speaker they want you to join the conversation, so don't feel shy about joining and taking the conversation where you want it to go.

New iphones come with a USB-C cable.

That’s it.

They formerly came with cable, charger, and wired ear buds appropriate to the phone.

Airlines distribute 3.5mm jack ear buds, if any at all.

It’s already a potential failure point expecting people to remember to carry an accessory allowing them to listen privately even if one is provided with the device on an incredibly common connection type.

But now they’re not included, you have to buy specialty USB-C ear buds or expensive airpods. More points of failure.

Haven’t even touched on the asshole factor of individuals just not giving an F and listening to their devices on speaker without regard to their fellow humans.

Every single flight I’ve been on there has been at least one individual VoIP calling, video watching, or gaming on their cell phone speaker that needed to be told to stop by the cabin crew.

Bring back the headphone jack. Dumping the 3.5mm jack is what brought this on.

It is simple as that. I do not want to worry about the headphones being charged and losing another charging case and making more room for another thing to charge where i charge everything else.

I do not want that at all.

It was the dumbest thing to make me need batteries for headphones. And I don't do any of this stuff that is in the article. But BRING BACK THE JACK.

My steam deck has a headphone jack.

It only takes one asshole in a crowded subway car to ruin it for everyone. I like to read on the subway, but they're basically telling me that if I want to drown out their tiktok videos, I need to bring something with me with my own audio to listen to over headphones, just to not hear them.

Obvioisly if someone's on speaker phone it's because they want you to join in the conversation. It's your duty to gather round and give your loud & uninformed opinions

This is not newsworthy

How do people not realize this?

Take your phone off speaker phone. It isn't a difficult concept. Entitled assholes. Keep your voice down so you don't irritate the hell out of others. I don't want to hear about your intestines. (BTW not aiming this at the op just at those that can't figure this out.)

I wonder if drug dealers also do this.

(Henry's phone rings with a machine gun ringtone. He answers it on speakerphone without a second thought.)

• Yo, Peter! What's up, man?
• Henry, we need to talk about the new shipment of snow.
• Yeah, what about it?
• Tom's got a fresh batch. Just crossed the border this morning. But we need to be careful, last time it was cut with too much crap.
• Yeah, Tom is such a greedy bastard. What do you say we skip the payment part, and just paint the walls with his brains?
• I thought you would never ask. I'll bring the shotgun. See you at the train station at 6.
• Cool see ya there. Bye.
• Bye.

(Henry looks at the bewildered people around him.)

• What are you all looking at?

The 3.5MM jack isn't coming back, but having USB-C adapters would be a good compromise. I don't see any major phone maker shipping them though, and you know Apple would charge $40 for it. Even Anker's is like $18, and they are the current "good, but not crazy expensive" accessory brand.

I was flying back from Jersey and on one of the flights a passenger in the front had to be told three times by a flight attendant to silence her phone. The last time we were in the middle of takeoff.