No AirPods

Walk the streets of most major world cities today and at least ~20% of the population under 50 has AirPods (or their equivalent) in. Music. Podcasts. Twitch streams. YouTube videos.

Here’s a fun idea: What if you didn’t do that?

And look, if you were thinking about coming after me, don’t. I’m an AirPods guy. I’m the biggest AirPods guy you know. I’ve owned four pairs in the last four years. (Not really because I love them, but because I keep losing them — but guess what, I keep buying them again.)

Walk onto the streets of any city I’m in and, in the past, yeah: I’ve been the AirPods guy.

Not anymore. Not since I forgot my AirPods in the car weeks ago and have not bothered to go get them since. I’m out on the streets, enjoying the sounds and the sights, being present in the moment. My AirPods are in some dark hole.

Life is nicer without AirPods.

Flights might not be nicer. Bring the AirPods for those. Maybe long bus or train or car rides, too. But why do you need AirPods to walk to the grocery store? Can you not just sit with your own thoughts — with the world — for 10 minutes?

It’s crazy, too, because the world has so much more stimulus than it used to. It’s not as though, for most people in the world, your trip to the grocery store is a monotonous walk over a flat desert plain to get to the village well. Probably you get in a car or on some form of transit. You see hundreds or thousands of people. Beautiful people, less-beautiful people. People dressed up in all sorts of styles and colors. Goth! Preppy! Probably runs crypto scams! You get to the store and there are thousands of items brought in from all around the world, made possible by the hard work of millions of people. And you still need to have AirPods in? This isn’t enough for you?

While we’re ditching AirPods, why not other things, too? Why not stop scrolling every time you get a free second? Why not stop answering texts the minute you get them on your walk through the park (you could try looking out at the park instead)? Why not stop FaceTiming people in crowded buses? Why not just stop bringing your phone entirely on all these short little trips?

Why not just leave the AirPods at home?