How earphones freed the individual

1979 was the year of the individual. Thatcherism began. Deng Xiaoping let market forces into China through his “special economic zones”. Meanwhile, in Japan, one of the most liberating consumer goods of the last century went on sale. It allowed people to control their aural environment – and, to that extent, their mood – at all times. Even the trade name (too gendered to be viable now) suggested a new kind of human being. Neolithic Man; Renaissance Man; Walkman.

Portable private sound: I want to hail the spread of this invention, from luxury product to commonplace. But what strikes me more is how far from universal it still is. On the street and the train, in airport lounges and bank queues, most people, even if unaccompanied, have naked ears. No AirPods adorn them. (Nor even the cheapo Philips TAT2206 that I favour.)

If you are among the refuseniks, permit me a question. How can you stand it? The dead air, I mean. The absence of stimulation. Or, worse, the presence of the wrong kind of stimulation. You are at the mercy of other people’s overheard chatter (“She, like, doesn’t have a growth mindset”) and the random honks of life.