Living in a big, noisy city is a challenge for anyone who decides to live there. Walking on crowded streets, hearing tons of different sounds or noise and adjusting to a fast-paced lifestyle might cause some anxiety and panic attacks. On the podcast “Ways Of Hearing”, Krukkowsi says: “In Tokyo’s subway, people pretend sleeping in order to avoid eye contact. Here, people use earbuds to avoid ear contact with others.” Creating your own personal, invisible bubble by using earbuds make us feel like we are in a different habitat until we take them off. It gives us a temporary privilege to feel that we are in a different room or place without physically leaving the environment. Although I never have had a problem with noise, I believe that some people need to use earbuds or similar kinds of devices to be in their comfort zone and in order to feel safe. I was born in Istanbul. After college, I moved to London and then 3 years after I decided to live in the Big Apple. Living a big city for my entire life taught me how to ignore the noise. I can even say I enjoy hearing them. On the other hand, my ex-wife had anxiety and panic attacks. Because of environmental reasons, one day she blew up and had to leave to city to live back in her hometown in Pittsburgh. This personal anecdote illustrates how some technological devices have a good, useful impact on people who need to use it for their own peace. 

Listening to “Ways of seeing “podcast really opened my eyes to the truth that everyone is now wrapped in their own bubbles. We use our social media and music to block out the world. For me, the music is an escape. I know some may believe it is a safety hazard or I’m not” living in the moment” . But when we think of all that is outside, especially living in New York City, you have to ask yourself do you truly want to live In the moment. Whether it’s the police sirens, a couple arguing, or racial slurs, none of the sounds of New York City at this time is a moment I want to live in. The inspiration that someone may face in New York, uncontrollably, does not reign the same. So although the bubble may come with a fear of negatives. It helps someone stay zen. It allows us to create a safe space in a world where safety is a constant concern from all angles. Those “living in the moment” times that everyone expects to happen in the world of the public, happen in the true world of personal life. Leaving that bubble to create those moments with your family and close friends, where we all practice the concept of cancelling out the background noise and honing in  on the real interactions that truly matters. 

The podcast “Ways of Hearing” describes the way in which sound affects our life. About 5 minutes into the podcast, Jeremiah Moss states that “When I see people walking around with their screens, I see people who don’t want to be here. They are opting out of the street life of the city” They explain how people tend to create their own “private bubbles” by using headphones. These people are creating their own little world in order to ignore things around them. To me, this idea is relatable and logical because of my own use of headphones. Whenever I go out in public, I always bring my headphones with me. This helps me stay comfortable in public and also makes trips more exciting to me. Like most other people, I tend to ignore my surroundings and people in public. Sound makes it easier to do so. Krukowski’s idea explains that earbuds are a great way to drown out public noises. This idea relates to a lot of people as well, especially in the city. Manhattan can be home to a bunch of loud noises. Oftentimes you will see people with earbuds or noise cancelling headphones to help drown them out and create their private bubble.

Technology nowadays is becoming a tool for people to avoid things they don’t like. on the podcast “Ways of hearing” Krukowski and his guests illustrated how people get disturbed by the noise of the city and try to avoid these noises by using their phones and earbuds to created a whole new environment that is suitable for them. I always see people walking with their eyes on their phones and with their headphones on all the time. As Jeremiah Moss said “a private kind of bubble in which to move through public space”. Earbuds became a tool for people to avoid everything around them. They tend to avoid everyone and be in their own world, especially on the train or crowded places, they’re always are minding their own business and try to avoid communication with others. I strongly relate to Krukwoki’s idea because My home country was quiet and barely a car pass by, but when I first came to New York it was so hard for me to adopt because it was noisy and crowded, therefore, I always use my phone to avoid eye contact with people since it makes me uncomfortable and using earbuds helps me avoid all the noises around me especially if I have to go out early in the morning theses helped me create a more relaxing environment.

I agree with the arguments made on this podcast. It is almost like we are all live in our on worlds. No one seems to look up from their phones and acknowledge what’s happening around them. As humans, we tend to isolate ourselves from each other. Sometimes we do this to avoid attention and to stay out of the trouble. This way of life can more than often be seen inside NYC. In New York, we have public transportation called the MTA. In the MTA you can go anywhere in the city. Paying a fee of 2.75$. You will see all but not limited to dancers, singers,  and homeless people all on the MTA. Noise is closely related to our lives in NYC. We listen to noises every day. As Schaffer says, “Noises are the sounds we have learned to ignore.” A way people avoid hearing noises including myself is by using noise cancellation inside headphones like AirPods. To sum it up I choose to ignore the noise, and maybe sometimes I consider the noise as a part of my life.

The second episode of Damon Krukowski’s Ways of Hearing would be his way of describing the different sounds and the space around it. This podcast shows a huge similarity to the experiences that I encounter everyday. For example one of Krukowski’s guests Jeremiah Moss explains during the podcast “when I see people looking at the screens, I see people that are opting out of the street life of the city creating a private bubble”. This logic is very accurate because there are many times when I have been walking in public places such as Times Squares, subway stations, and even grocery stores while having my attention on my phone.. This helps to me to not focus on unnecessary things around me and makes it easier to navigate around certain places that are both over populated. Another good way of eliminating the noises of the environment would be earbuds. Krukowski and his guest Emily Thompson described earbuds as “an auditorium without walls”. I would agree with this comparison.  I would say that earbuds function the same way with me because it feels as though the sounds coming from the earbuds are as loud as stereos and other loud noises but the sound is only being bounced around inside our heads.

As humans, we tend to isolate ourselves from each other. It is something we occasionally do, even if some of us have outgoing personalities. There is much reason why we may do this whether it’s to avoid attention or to stay out of the trouble, we tend to keep to ourselves. This attitude can be prominently be seen in New York City. In New York, we have public transportation called the MTA. On the MTA you can get to almost anywhere in the city. You will see many things on the MTA such as dancers, singers,  and homeless individuals. But one thing you will always see is the isolation people have from the rest of the city. Krukowski’s ideas about the use of earbuds are spot-on. David states that “In Tokyo, people pretend to go to sleep to avoid eye contact but here with all these headphones it’s like we’re avoiding ear contact.” This goes to show how people dont want to communicate with each other. It as if we’re all in our own little private space that we do not want to leave. You will most likely see 90% percent of the people on the bus or train with headphones on. It is highly unlikely that you will see people conversing with each other unless it’s a group of friends. Krukwoki’s idea does line up with my own experiences because I do these things as well. I put on my headphones to get away from the world and to stay out of trouble. Whether I’m watching a movie or listening to music I feel like I’m in my own comfy bubble.

In his podcast, Krukowski and his guests point out how people are completely caught up with their phones and headphones that they don’t even notice the space around them. Jeremiah Moss describes this as “a private kind of bubble in which to move through public space”. In my own experience, I do witness many other people moving around in these bubbles, but I choose to walk around without headphones. The noises of New York was part of the appeal of the city for me. Every day I used to walk out my door and hear the men on my apartment stoop blasting music having conversations. I enjoy the honking of cars and buses and the rustle of the subway, but many others like to drown out the noise. However, it is interesting to note that these past seven months have been different for NYC sounds. The ambulance sirens have a different meaning. The outdoor noise has become quieter, and the men that used to hang out on my stoop have disappeared. The soundscape of NYC has changed as people are confined to stay inside.

Noise is closely related to our lives. We are disturbed by the noise every day. As Schaffer says, “Noises are the sounds we have learned to ignore.” We live in such a prosperous metropolis, to avoid the noise affecting us, ignoring the noise is more from our judgment of the noise. In many cases, we have to accept them. I live in an apartment near the city center. The apartment is on the side of the road, and the road is a major transportation hub. Every day I hear people talking to each other as they come and go. The sirens of ambulances, police cars, fire engines, and the roar of cars going back and forth. Even the noise of the children next door. I am a quiet person, so these sounds are all noise to me. At first, I wear earplugs. Earplugs give me a personal space and allow me to focus on more things. But over time I found that even though I wore earplugs every day to avoid noise, there was no reduction in the noise. As a result, I began to learn to see and ignore them from different perspectives. I choose to ignore the noise, and maybe sometimes I consider the noise as a part of my life. Because I realized that these sounds are the symbol of this bustling, bustling city, which is the so-called life.

it is quite true as these days everyone are in their own world and with hear phones they are controlling what they want to hear, but not the things happening around them. it’s because of time that everyone change. as the new technology come people became more and more connected but separated at the same time. we keep what we want to hear and others also have their own what they want to hear.