Thread June 16, 2012 editorial: comments

Dear Fellow Audiofanziners!

Often while we work or study we use headphones to listen to music, both to shield ourselves from people bothering us and to not bother others with our music.  In survey after survey, workers report feeling happier, more productive and better able to concentrate at work with headphones on.  Yet, another survey finds that 'Listening to music hurts our ability to recall other stimuli, and any pop song — loud or soft — reduces overall performance for both extroverts and introverts…no, listening to music unfortunately won’t increase your concentration.’  This makes sense to me as I was never able to study with headphones on, I was too distracted by the music.  I never understood those who did.  Wherever I worked it was not allowed to have headphones on, some places allowed you to play music at a low volume (without headphones).

So then it is interesting, why do people do this?  I think in a modern office listening to music on headphones gives people a sense of privacy especially in open office or cubicle style environments.  I mean, you don’t really find those with private offices putting in ear buds?  They just close the door. 

But another reason why some people listen to music on headphones at work/school is because I think they are trying to ‘flavor up’ their work which is maybe a little bit less than interesting.  They know it is distracting them from what they need to do, and maybe that’s what they are looking for.

Or maybe they are just sound addicts.

Chater-La