Comm 160, August Blog

Quote: We live in and are surrounded by sounds.

Chapter 4 (pg.63)

The opening sentence of chapter four talks about the auditory sensations that are always around us. However it can be used to summarize the entirety of the 21st century. Anyone and everyone, specifically of my generation the millennials, has access to limitless knowledge, endless entertainment, and connection to any other person in the world they know of in their pocket. While this opening line is meant to bring into awareness what is around us, I immediately jumped to the thought of my smart phone and all the “noise” it emanates daily.

According to huffingtonpost.com “on average, one third of people’s waking hours are spent using them, with phones being used on average five times an hour, every waking hour”. I am definitely one of these people. But looking around Boise State campus I notice many others are too. Students are either focused on their computers doing homework, checking their phones or listening to music with headphones. As Julian Treasure puts it in this Ted Talk 5 ways to listen better “[technology] turns big public space soundscapes, into millions of tiny personal sound bubbles.” So rather than connecting with the people and sounds around us, we become engulfed into the sea of modern day “noise”.

But what is it that we miss by swimming in our sea of static noise. As I sit writing this paper I am opening my ears and truly listening my surroundings. I hear the fan of my computer, and my fingers tap dancing on the keys as I type. I hear the people in the next room talking and I am listening to the hum of the air conditioner in the corner. It is a symphony of sounds surrounding me. Just taking a few minute of focused quite listening to the sounds outside put my busy mind at rest, which it almost never is otherwise.

Returning to the quote, while the sounds of life surround us we are often to busy with the the stresses of life and school to notice them. But if we take a moment to listen, calm our minds and escape the rush of the modern day, maybe we can return to it with a clearer and more open mind.

- Robby Meier, Comm 160.