Dink = Headphones in Public?
 

I swear it's only Crompsin that makes me look at the internet and yell, "I'm not a dink damn it".

Question: What is your opinion of wearing headphones in public? Dink or not?

I wear mine in public all the time. I eat lunch by myself nine times out of ten and I always wear headphones. I just would rather eat in peace with quiet and Reel Big Fish. When I'm on service calls, I have my head phones on. Basically when I'm by myself, I have my headphones on. I don't think a thing about it.

So, is Chimpsin right? Dink or not?

The problem here is not that you're wearing headphones in public, but that you're listening to Reel Big Fish. ;)

Why would you wear headphones in private? If you're in private you can listen to the music through normal speakers without disturbing anyone.

As long as you're not wearing Earmuff headphones, I think you're good to go.. Reel big fish though? Serially?

A big fuck you to whoever thinks I can't listen to my headphones in public.

The day I start worrying about people wearing headphones in public is the day I better quit fucking going out in public.

I want to kick the people who wear their fucking bluetooth headsets everywhere in the crotch though.

To me, it's the same thing.

*crotchpunt*

I think I have been reading too many comics or I'm too into retro-congruency, but I really like earmuff headphones, especially to be seen in public with 'em. Either those, or earphones that have that built-in mechanism where they wrap themselves up neatly, no tangled-wires, no mess, just streamlined for easy use and pocketing away when not in use.

I think my fascination with big headphones is as so, the fact of which is that I hate hearing you people talk in public when I'm trying to listen to tunes, the radio show, or archived podcasts, and those "rinky-dink" white earbuds are not gonna drown your incessant babble out sufficiently enough to even warrant use or good mentions.

Also, for some reason, my head's shape really does not form fit well to conventional baseball caps or other hats, and I look beyond odd if I were to step into the public eye with one on; I guess big, pacifying headphones is my way of coping of never, ever being able to wear a hat outside again.


Last stop: this reminds me of a comment Sharon made I don't know how long ago, and it fits well within the means of this topic: Do only "dinks", "losers" and "oddballs" wear a backpack in public if they are not in school?

It isn't as bad as the domino effect of Blackberry users completely obvious to their surrounding while trying to look cool and important at the same time. Now those people to me are huge dinks

I thought about that and I do agree, but that's a total different thread.

****

Reel big fish is great, don't be knockin' the SKA music.

They have a song just for chomp.

I don't like dealing with people in my store who refuse to take off their headphones when we're talking. If I need to interact with someone, I always take off my headphones. It shows that I'm willing to listen and communicate.

Otherwise, I wear my headphones whenever I'm out and about alone.

When I see the word "dink" I actually think "DINK" = double income, no kids.

So when I first looked at this, I was like, WTF does one have to do with the other?

And no, you don't look like a dink in public with earbuds in. If that's bad, I've been that kind of dink for years; I've been toting some kind of portable music device and headphones (and yes, even those earmuff kind at one point) for about 22 years now, since I received a Walkman Sport for my 5th birthday.

However, if you do have one of those Bluetooth headsets on and you look like you're talking to yourself, THEN you have problems.

When did dink stop meaning double income no kids?

I think it has more to do with how oblivious to your surroundings you are... If I have trouble getting your attention at a reasonable level of voice then yah dink.

and take them out if we are trying to communicate verbally...

I second the question... why would you have headphones if not for public use? Isn't that the whole point?

Headphones are vital in discouraging chatty Cathys from striking up an inane conversation with you while riding public transporation. I used to wear mine even if the batteries were dead (back when I had a Walkman and rode the bus everyday).

I like big earmuff headphones. Like Princess Leia's.

Bluetooth headsets are convenient and hip. Get with the times, old timers.

They can be useful when used appropriately. That means not wearing them when not in use.

What's wrong with wearing them when not in use?

i only dont like it when people arent aware of their surroundings. then youre a dunk

Bluetooth headsets I mean, not headphones. It's OK with headphones because no one knows if you're really using them or not. If you're wearing a bluetooth headset and not actually using it, everyone knows that you're just a douche that's trying to look cool but really comes across looking like a corporate tool.

I always have my headset on when I'm in the car whether I use it or not. When on a rare occasion I actually walk, it stays home.

Besides, I consider it as much of an accessory as my watch, chain with the Star of David.

http://www.horizonwirelessonline.com/cat/images/h12.gif

Yum.

^^ Mee too.

a) Don't bump into me because your wearing headphones and walking backwards stupid ass!!
b) I don't want to hear your music ... wear headphones or I'll ask you to turn it off.

In the car is totally different and acceptable. You're using it in a sense because it allows you to answer the phone hands free.

+1

Nothing says you're not interested in conversation like a pair of earmuff headphones. I love mine so much that during the summer, I typically have a noticeable tanline around where mine rest over my ears.

Not to mention that you'll have to pay out the ass for a earbuds that do a decent job with bass.

That's the only place I ever used mine. I gave that up though in favor of just listening to the radio.

The people I had in mind are the ones that walk through Wal-Mart because I guess they feel like they need to keep both hands on the cart to keep it under control or be free to slap their dirty, snot faced youngsters. Or the people who wear them at a restaurant not realizing that even though they see themselves as being alone, they are still talking with their mouths full of food. I've never even had the need for one in an airport but it seems there are people who can't fly without one and two bags that won't fit in the overhead compartment.

I almost always wear my earbuds. It makes commuting bearable if I can listen to music.

I always were earbud style headphones if i am on the bus, or downtown. I think it is funny when you see the people with those big can style headphones. designed more for a home stereo.

to the people who think headphones are bad, we can always go back to the alternative.....

Seeing as how I'm the Dink Cromp was referring to...


I wear my headphones while I commute. Which is by bicycle, scooter or walking. Do you listen to the radio in your car while you commute?

In general, it's best to just ignore Crompsin ;)

Where I work, people play their car radios for others to listen to. How they haven't yet gotten anurisms, I don't know.

See, I find that ignoring people entirely has very comparable results.

This is something I actually thought about outside of this thread. I wear my earphones at my favorite greasy burger joint and one guy asked me if I did that all the time. Granted he didn't have all of teeth, but the question was still viable. I wondered if anyone else felt weird for wearing them everywhere.

Maybe it was a typo and what he rally meant to say was "Probably 'cuz you're one of those dinks that wears headphones in pubic." Now that would be pretty dinkish, double income or not.

I sometimes wear headphones when not in use. I find that it reduces the interactions with homeless people, newspaper touts, bar touts, restaurant touts, lost tourists, NYers looking to find if they are on the right train, and people in general.

I can just sit back and ignore their speaking and hand motions and just not answer them.

WIN!

i wear mine all the time in public because i don't like being approached by needy men. its my buffer lol.

do ipod earbuds count? cuz those things are perpetually jammed in to my ears. Gaming, check, workout, check, passenger travel? check.

:p

I have a not-so-close neighbor that wears bright yellow earmuff headphones while listening to rap.
You can hear him out his car window trying to sing along, all the while his car keeps pulling to the left.

He's not bright to begin with, but being perpetually high and/ or drunk while wearing the 'phones doesn't help his image around the neighborhood.

He's a card.

We've talked about chipping in and getting him an Ipod or something.

please dont.

"Dink" makes me think of Dink Smallwood. /geek.


Bluetooths annoy the SHIT outta me. headphones, though... meh. They don't bother me. Until I'm trying to talk to someone, and they aren't paying attention... but then, I just tap them on the shoulder. No big deal.



Oh, unless they're singing along. IF YOU'RE WEARING HEADPHONES, DON'T SING ALONG!


...ahem.

Poor young dink killed by falling tree she didn't hear since she had headphones on :(

Falling branch kills newcomer to city out jogging | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/06/2009

"...Police say she was listening to an iPod while jogging and may not have heard the 30-foot-long branch crack and fall from a tulip tree, also known as a tulip poplar..."

As for myself, I don't own anything portable that I could listen to out of the house...well, technically I do own four ipods and various other portable gadgets but my kids are always using them. So add two more up-and-coming dinks to our count since they contantly have their buds on...today we'll try transferring my big one's musc downloads to his Blackberry since his ipod seems to be on the fritz and the Apple store can't diagnose it until tomorrow (pretty sure it's totally busted...again)

Just when I think you can't be geekier, you surprise me in a new way. This is a good thing. I mean, who else know that game. Rock! :thumbsup:

Wow, what a bunch of judgemental pricks regarding the bluetooth headsets. So it's ok to tell everyone around you to "fuck off, I am wearing headphones", but someone who might actually have an interaction with someone, even over the phone deserves to be kicked in the crotch. Hey, here's a judgement that is actually worth something. If you are running in crowded areas like across city streets, or if you bicycle or ride a "snort" scooter and you wear headphones, you are an idiot. You cannot hear shit, and that makes you more vulnerable. In the end, it does not matter if you are right, you are still injured or dead if someone runs you over. And in most places, it is illegal to wear headphones while driving a car. BTW, ipod headphones suck. they have no clarity or bass, and they are uncomfortable. I use silicone earbuds, because they don't fall out and they can allow you to listen at lower volumes in the gym, because it cuts out whatever horrible screechy club or "hiphop" artist is being played. "brella, brella, brella". Hit her again Chris, she is skipping.

Far North Side jogger shot in robbery attempt - Chicago Breaking News

Actually, I agree with you about the headphones too. Wearing headphones while riding a bike or crossing a street or doing anything where hearing is a reasonably necessary matter of safety is stupid. As for bluetooth headsets, it's pretty accepted these days that it makes you look like a fool if you're not actually using it, or using it when it's unnecessary. Again, the difference is that I can tell when you're probably not using the bluetooth, I can't tell when you're not using headphones. If I could tell that someone wasn't using headphones but was wearing them anyway, I'd think it makes them look just as stupid.

Dink has so many meanings these days. When I was a kid, back in the mesozoic era, dink was common vernacular for dork, nerd, geek, tool, what have you. Now, of course, it also means Double Income No Kids. And, I've embarassingly come to find, is also a derogatory term for people of asian decent. Who the hell knew? What? Gook, chink and slant weren't enough? These asswipes had to co-opt "dink"?

As far as headphones in public go...who cares? I'm just glad that it helps to save me from having to listen to the wearer's horrid taste in music. Personally...I think that they should be made mandatory for any owner of a $400 hooptie with a $4000 sound system.

Those bluetooth thingys, on the other hand, annoy the holy hell out of me. Especially when someone is standing in line behind me and appears to be striking up a conversation with me. It triple annoys me when the device is covered by thier hair. Of course I'm the one that comes off looking like a "dink" when I start to respond to this persons conversation.

While I agree that headphones are not to be worn when it is important to be aware of traffic or other aspects of your surroundings, I doubt the headphones had much to do with the guy getting shot. The gun he pushed out of the way should have been a visual clue that he needed to pay fucking attention. Of course I didn't read the whole article yet, but still...

Well, yes, but it was amusing to me to see that article today while this discussion is going on :) Maybe they wouldn't have pulled the gun had he heard them the first time.

Bike and Scooter?? Well, that's illegal, first of all, but most importantly its' dangerous as fuck. If you're riding a vehicle you should be able to hear what's going on. Even with the radio on in the car, most people can hear enough to be aware of their surroundings.
Headphones cut you off from the sound around you.

I wear mine while walking, but I look around more than I would without them(also if I crash into someone while walking, it's not like they're gonna die). They're big can-type headphones, and they allow me not to hear someone ask me for a dollar for his/her basketball team, or talk about their stupid religion.
I hate earbuds. It sounds like the sound is inside your head.

This. People need to get over themselves. I have a cellphone so I can talk to people. I don't give a fuck if it bothers you, I'll talk all I want while I'm in line behind you.

I also don't get why it is such a big deal for someone on a bike or scooter it doesn't mean they have to be maxed. Cars are so soundproofed these days that even if your radio is only at a relatively low volume you can hardly hear anything outside the vehicle.

Because, unless you're singing along with the headphones (which I've already expressed my annoyance with), you're QUIET. With a bluetooth, you're talking to someone. It's not much different than a regular ol' cell phone, true. (except, I can't tell you the number of times I've looked like a dumbass because I thought someone talking on a Bluetooth was talking to ME.) But in certain situations, people need to get off their cell phones, too.

You are, of course, free to feel this way. You're in a shrinking minority though. More and more people are recognizing this as rude behavior.

And I am also free to suddenly realize that I have suddenly come down with a violent case of whooping cough.

That isn't what bothers me. I don't give two shits that they are talking on the phone, they just look douchetastic when they wear them when they aren't needed. Like the next call the guy in the stained WWF t-shirt is going to be the one that lands him an Obama cabinet position. And maybe that is the most ridiculous looking thing... People who aren't talking on them but look like there isn't anyone that would call them anyway.

Yeah I'm a judgmental prick sometimes.

You have the right to this opinion, but I think you should be aware that many people would consider this not only rude but inconsiderate. Personally I don't mind as long as the person isn't yelling into their phone. People talking into their phones at a level I can't hear is perfectly acceptable to me.

Pet hate though: people playing music on their mobile phone speakers on public transport. That along with the cost and complete lack of reliability of public transport are why I gave up going green and drive instead.

Everyone's opinions are stupid. Just dumbly stupid.

I don't see the difference between talking on the phone and talking to your friends next to you. I agree on the second part though.

My ears are incompatible with headphones, so I'm kinda envious of anyone who can run around with things stuck into their brain. As for the bluetooth thingums - I second what kutulu thinks, and these things still annoy the crap out of me. It's just like talking to a person right next to you. Still - red hot rage.

The point of wearing a headset is so you don't have to reach into your pocket, take out your cellphone, and put it to your ear. Why the hell would I keep a headset in my pocket where I have to take it out and put it on my ear anyway?

People raging about bluetooth headsets (which, by the way, is a bluetooth headset, not a bluetooth,) sound like the people who were complaining ten years ago that anyone with a cell phone was just trying to look rich and important. You're all just whiny.