To think that it’s ridiculous to approach a stranger wearing headphones?

Funnily enough I often see him walk past when DH is doing the same job and he doesn't even make eye contact...

I like to hear what's going on around me when I'm out in public. I think I'd feel on edge if I was listening to something with headphones on.

Anyway... lol

You're just the mountain he's yelling at, a prop. But a prop that has to give him attention.

Ugh, YANBU. I was in my front garden yesterday watering plants (takes ages so I stuck on a podcast) and a man stopped and started yelling over the fence. When I eventually noticed him and took them off - the very important thing he said about 4 times was "I bet you didn't think you'd be watering the plants this week after last week's weather!"

It's just people being friendly. They obviously think you look like a friendly face.

Not the point of the thread, but things I’ve needed to tell people wearing headphones (who are completely oblivious to their environment) include:

• ”it’s your turn to move to an empty self check-out in the supermarket queue and you’re holding us all up
• “you’re blocking an empty seat on the tube that I really would like to get to”
• and there’s more

I dunno. Complete tuning out of the environment does seem rude in some circumstances.
I’ve had to tentatively shake the arm of people or tap them on the shoulder in the scenarios above.

And then am I the rude one?
will be doing it anyway, though

I wouldn’t mind being interrupted to help someone
i do get that people put them in and do not wish to be disturbed. My colleague in the office does it . Sits with them in all day 😂 I only interrupt her if I really need to. I must be really annoying 😂🤣

Why is it civilised to interrupt someone because you've decided you need something from them? The people doing the approaching are the rude ones imo.

I'm a carer, I get maybe 2 hours a day when I drop my dd at school, and those 2 hours are the only thing keeping me sane a lot of the time. Why should someone else wants come before my need for space?

I smile and say hi to people in passing, and stop to speak to people I know, everyone who requires anything else can go find one of the many other people who love to stop and yap to strangers, I'm not the one, and the fact I wear the most obvious headphones I can find should be a massive giveaway to that.

https://www.times-series.co.uk/news/national/24295028.sword-attack-victim-had-headphones-in-not-hear-warnings---neighbour/

YABU. Wearing headphones doesn’t mean you can opt out of the normal to and fro of a civilised community. I would fully expect you to remove your headphones to help with a polite enquiry. It’s really rude of you otherwise.

My sets do have that function where I listen and hear my surroundings but how many people actually use that function who knows.

I still wouldn’t approach someone wearing headphones, ear buds unless necessary.

Omg this happened to me at the station. I leapt out of my skin and went to punch him. He was some cocky twat who apparently needed some rail information. In this case, it was simply sheer male arrogance. He thought he was so excellent that I needed to be interrupted so he could grace me with his banter under the guise of needing information. Jesus, I’m still shocked about it.

An excellent side effect of so many people wearing headphones is if your baby is screaming the place down, very few people are remotely bothered. When I realised this, I found it so much less stressful when one of my children kicked off. No more dying of guilt and worrying that everyone hates you.

I think most people wearing head phones in public are wearing the type that mean you can hear your surroundings as well as your music. Its a bit irresponsible not to.

Unless I'm with someone else, I don't leave the house without my pods. It helps me deal with too many noises/anxiety.
I've never been stopped by anybody though, so I guess my RBF is working well 😁
If someone did stop me I'm unsure if I would interact or not. I think it would depend on them/me/my mood.

It’s been a signal of “I’m not to be bothered” for years. It is nothing new. Why would you talk to someone barring an emergency or need of assistance who likely cannot hear you?

I pulled over a man in the street with earphones walking his dog once - to see where he got the breed 😄 he was crazily nice about it.

What if everyone is wearing headphones? Also, someone could not be wearing headphones but enjoying singing a song in their head and not appreciate being interrupted. You sound precious.

I go to work by public transport, 20 years the same trip. Nowadays everybody is wearing headphones and/or watching series on a laptop. Back in the days i actually met people , made contact, had nice conversations.
No wonder everybody needs online dating

This is COMPLETELY different to the men who demand women's attention all the time because we are service bots

I agree. I will happily smile and say good morning to an elderly lady if I pass her and have headphones on.

What irritates me is the older men who pester for conversation whilst completely ignoring the other men or elderly women around and only seem interested in starting up conversations with much younger women. If they were genuinely just lonely then surely they’d also be happy to stop other men or older women to chat but they don’t. Why is it that it’s only the younger women who are able to relieve their loneliness?

I’m with you

I do make a point of taking an AirPod out and saying 'hello' to older people on my runs.

This was repaid once when the dog ran on ahead of me and a group of older men saw him, knew he was mine and waited to see if I was OK. They were worried because they'd never seen the dog without me and thought something might have happened. It's made me feel a lot safer on runs because if I keel over, the men are looking out.

This is COMPLETELY different to the men who demand women's attention all the time because we are service bots.

I wasn't aware that wearing headphones was a signal of disconnecting entirely from society? Or people DARING to talk to you. God what have we come to.

YANBU. I have had this and made a point to the woman who interrupted me. Hopefully she'll think next time.

I was asked for directions on the middle of a busy road as I pushed a double buggy with one and held a toddlers hand in the other. I obviously didn’t have the hands to gesticulate and I didn’t want to tell him to fuck off in front of dc but I did a sort of shake glare wtf face.