One of the products that I heavily endorse and use almost all of the time is this magical device called a “Bluetooth Beanie”, and the name tells the whole story. Essentially, it’s a beanie that has two small speakers on either side for your ears, and still has decent sound quality. Basically, as someone who loves beanies and listening to music, it’s a gift from the heavens.
But with this fantastic device comes some inevitable downsides that I’ve noticed lately. The speakers on the beanie aren’t noise cancelling at all, so you can still hear people trying to talk to you, right? Well, that’s what I had thought and hoped for, but the act of multi-tasking between trying to listen to music and talk to people has only made my relationships worse.
I really started to notice the problem when friends on campus would approach me and say something along the lines of “Hey! I was trying to get your attention earlier, but I guess you couldn’t hear me.” and that’s the moment I realized the issue. I was trying to get rid of the silence in my life.
The amount of noise I go through every day, and I’m sure many others do as well, has exponentially increased. Music is amazing, but there’s something about silent moments that has its own value as well. Spotify has playlists for just about every single scenario you might find yourself in, even scenarios you’ll never find yourself in, so it can feel like there’s a need to fill the empty space with noise that isn’t really meaningful.
Since then, I’ve mostly stopped wearing the beanie and have been more open to enjoying the silent moments and seeking out more conversation with others, and the difference has been night and day. The interactions that I have missed out on make me regret using the beanie, but I’m also content with the change I’ve made.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love my Bluetooth Beanie, and of course it’s fun to show off to people who have never seen one before, but letting it get in the way of my social life was a huge mistake. I have the best friends someone could ask for, and I shouldn’t let a hat get in the way of that.
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