Headphones rock

> Superior to earphones and earbuds in every sense

Caroline Ho
Arts Editor

 

At stylistically, and

convenience-wise—
headphones beat earphones or
earbuds any day of the week.

I’m not going to get into the audio
quality aspect here, because obviously
there’s a lot of differentiation between
brands of headphones or earphones and
the amount of money youre willing to
spend. However, whether it’s a $400
Audio-Technica pair or $20 Sony’s, on-
ear or over-ear, headphones are more
versatile and effective in a lot of ways
than anything you stick inside your ear.

First of all, headphones are less
potentially damaging to your hearing.
Earbuds and especially earphones
deliver sound right into your ear canal,
so when you listen to something at the
same volume through headphone and
earphones, the latter causes the sound
to reach the delicate parts of your ears
a lot more directly and damaginglly. If
you blast music at max volume youre
going to cause damage no matter what
equipment youre using (please don't,
folks!), but you're probably more likely
to turn the volume up if youre using a
lower-quality pair of earphones with
poor noise cancellation or isolation.

Storage and ease of carrying is

also a point in favour of headphones.
They're obviously bulkier and harder
to stuff hastily into your pocket—but
that also means they're less likely to
fall out of your pocket without you
noticing. In addition, headphone
wearers don’t have to suffer the constant
frustration of shedding earphone tips
left and right, and being left with
mismatching ones that don’t fit properly.
Also, let’s face it, if you’re ever in
a situation where you have to borrow
someone else’s earphones or earbuds,
sticking someone else’s earwax-covered
tips in your ear canals is pretty gross.
But wait, you might be saying, if you
don’t have a good pocket or case to store
your headphones, you're stuck wearing
them when you're on the go! I’d call this
another mark in their favour because
headphones also serve as fashion
accessories and ear-warmers. If you're
the type to constantly have freezing ears
in winter, even with a layer of toque or
hood, headphones are great for keeping
you both physically cozy and emotionally
comforted with music. I’ve also had
instances on supremely windy days
where headphones have been the only
thing preventing my hat from flying off.
The aesthetic of wearing
headphones also leads to perhaps
the best reason for their superiority:
Headphones unequivocally convey a

 

more powerful statement of “Please don’t
talk to me.” For those times when you're
not feeling particularly communicative
and want to avoid having someone
strike up a conversation with you,
headphones give off the impression of
drowning out the noises of the outside
world more than earphones, regardless
of how much you can actually overhear.
You'd think that earphones or earbuds
would get the message across clearly
enough, but people can be oblivious

to your desire to be left alone. With
headphones, I find it a lot easier to

The death of the internet

> Why you should care about Net Neutrality

Ida Salmany
Contributor

 

N: neutrality is the policy that all
internet activity should be treated

equally. Whether youre watching cat videos
on YouTube, stalking your ex on Facebook,
or buying something you absolutely do not
need from Amazon (it’s okay, we've all been
there) with the net neutrality proposition
passed, you will have to pay to use these
services and know that companies such

as Comcast and AT&T are favouring

their content over their rival’s content.

Recently, the current Federal
Communications Commission (FCC)
chairman of Trump’s office, Ajit Pai,
issued a proposition to eliminate the
present net neutrality policies. This
means that broadband providers will be
able to charge the web companies for a
“fast lane” option, whereas smaller online
video or video game providers could be
pushed aside to the “slow lane.” The
most prominent service providers such as
Netflix, Google, and Amazon will have to
pay more money, benefitting the Internet
Service Provider (ISP), but resulting in
a disadvantage for us as consumers.

The prices of our internet providers
will increase, and companies such as
AT&T and Comcast could give their own
service priority on their network, reducing
competitors and limiting what you can
access. For example, Bing could pay Bell
to increase their speed and then Bell

could charge you an extra fee to get faster
Google services. This is terrible news for
startup companies working hard on being
the next Facebook or Netflix. Ultimately
it can lead to your internet experience
looking more like cable TV, where your
provider will curate all the content.

Last week, Justin Trudeau was asked
about his thoughts on the FCC’s proposal
and responded by saying that he will
defend net neutrality, which is essential
to small businesses and consumers.

On December 14 the FCC is scheduled
to vote on the proposition, and it has
become certain to some that it will pass.

Internet access is and should always
bea place for freedom of speech. It
should be a platform where everyone
can access freely and express equally.

ISP’s should not be able to discriminate
against information or specific websites by
blocking them and making them slower
and harder to access, which will ultimately
discourage us from using slower sites.
While the internet might not be physically
needed to survive, for most of us it has
become an absolute necessity. We rely

on the internet for work, for school, for
communicating with friends and families,
and it helps us organize our lives. Putting
such a valuable tool into the hands of
companies that only care about profiting
is a terrible idea. If we don’t let the free
market decide the price we pay for water
and electricity without any regulations,
why should we give it the opportunity

to determine the fate of the internet?

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Photo by Analyn Cuarto

walk straight past that person trying
to hand you a Scientology pamphlet at
the SkyTrain tation and pretend | don’t
see their mouth moving. An onlooker
could conceivably fail to notice that
you have earphones in; it’s considerably
harder to miss the headphones.

Lastly, there’s the symbolism and
pride that comes with being seen and
known as a person with headphones.
If you have earbuds in, to a casual
passerby you're probably listening
to some catchy songs; if you have
headphones, youre listening to music.

 

 

 

Photo of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai via The Hill