The Short Version
A Digital Trends essay argues earbuds function as noise-management tools, citing 145 million Europeans exposed to unhealthy transport noise and a 28% drop in daily spoken words since 2005.
Paulo Vargas makes a case that earbuds aren't antisocial, they're a coping tool for cities that got too loud to bear. The numbers back him up: 145 million Europeans are exposed to transport noise levels that damage health, and daily spoken words dropped 28% between 2005 and 2019. People weren't talking less because they put earbuds in; they were already retreating. Earbuds just gave them control over what they hear instead of surrendering to whatever the city throws at them.