iTuned Out

As I was driving from OC to LA last week, I kept looking in my rearview, somewhat expecting to see flashing police/medic lights. I could have sworn I heard a high-pitched noise, but when I discovered there was no emergency behind me and I would not be getting harassed (I am rockin' the 'fro mind you), I relaxed some and returned back to the music in my headphones...

Perhaps I should have mentioned those first, or thought about the effect they might have on my driving. There were instances when I looked down to change the tune and if traffic had been heavier, I might have looked up and realized those medics were needed after all (though, I still wouldn't have wanted to see Johnny Law-ahem, Papito.).

Am I introverted to the point where I can no longer stand the radio and further disconnect with the world and even other drivers, just to find comfort and pleasure in my own world of tunes? I even listen to the music in my headphones while I take walks, which have increased lately (I wonder if this is due to the knowledge that I have the music to distract my exercise). How effective am I in the environment around me if I disengage constantly to seek security (a home) in my own head with little if any interaction with what's happening around me? If I can't relay what I'm thinking or feeling to the outside world, can I relate?

It's not just me, though. I strolled past a bank last week and saw a security guard standing outside, also with headphones in his ears. How effectively could he do his job of protecting the bank, its staff, patrons, and money, if he was somewhat distracted? Could he do his job at all? Was the distraction just a look to deceive others? When I came across another security guard with headphones, this time near LA Kennedy High School, I decided to ask him if I could try out one of his headphones to test the decibel level and see if anything audibly emitted. It was nowhere near as loud as what I am accustomed to.

Who else out there listens to the voices in their head (ie. headphones) about as much or more than you listen to other people in your surrounding area? Has the mass-production and increased technology related to music truly given us a "universal language" or just made it possible and acceptable for us to become less communicative?