New Post
Search
HelpPersonalised WHAT? m
in reply to a message by mirfak
Personalised earbuds? I am slack-jawed with amazement. Sometimes I think civilisation has gone too far. But I'm proud of your kids for not being interested, one way or another. You've done a good job there.
Archived Thread - replies disabled
1
Replies
Why are personalized earbuds such a bad thing?
I can see how they're not really necessary, but you can say that about most things people buy, so I'm not getting it.
I can see how they're not really necessary, but you can say that about most things people buy, so I'm not getting it.
1
Personalised earbuds are at the outer extreme of unnecessary. Earbuds, as we know them, are communal property, like bottles of shampoo and bars of soap.
That said, people where I live don't seem to do personalised things; sometimes in card shops there are little stickers with usually wrong definitions of a name (my personal favourite was "Imogen: the image of her mother"!) and very occasionally a keyring but I think our population is just too small to support that kind of product. We've got eleven official languages and our unemployment is at about 26% of the labour force, but about another 25% (guesstimate) aren't counted as being in the labour force, because of being permanently unemployed! So there's not a lot of disposable income to dispose of, though admittedly speakers of English and Afrikaans tend to have more of it. I don't blame manufacturers for choosing not to personalise the nation's earbuds!
That said, people where I live don't seem to do personalised things; sometimes in card shops there are little stickers with usually wrong definitions of a name (my personal favourite was "Imogen: the image of her mother"!) and very occasionally a keyring but I think our population is just too small to support that kind of product. We've got eleven official languages and our unemployment is at about 26% of the labour force, but about another 25% (guesstimate) aren't counted as being in the labour force, because of being permanently unemployed! So there's not a lot of disposable income to dispose of, though admittedly speakers of English and Afrikaans tend to have more of it. I don't blame manufacturers for choosing not to personalise the nation's earbuds!
1
I would never in a million years consider earbuds as communal property. I wouldn't want to put something in my body that was already in somebody else's.
1
Not the used ones!
1
Massive translation issue, I think :)
When the American posters are talking about 'earbuds', they are talking about what Australian and British users (and likely South Africans too) call headphones:
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/617272f8-a82f-4528-8d00-2d9112abc30e_1.254682caea8eff500b5d341d98779b12.jpeg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF
In Australia (and I'm assuming other British English speaking places), we call these cotton buds or ear buds and they're used for cleaning your ears:
http://media-poundland.scdn1.secure.raxcdn.com/catalog/product/cache/1/image/370x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/1/4/14409_7.jpg
When the American posters are talking about 'earbuds', they are talking about what Australian and British users (and likely South Africans too) call headphones:
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/617272f8-a82f-4528-8d00-2d9112abc30e_1.254682caea8eff500b5d341d98779b12.jpeg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF
In Australia (and I'm assuming other British English speaking places), we call these cotton buds or ear buds and they're used for cleaning your ears:
http://media-poundland.scdn1.secure.raxcdn.com/catalog/product/cache/1/image/370x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/1/4/14409_7.jpg
1
Ha! I want personalized q-tips.
1
Curious then, do Australians/Brits have different words for in-ear headphones (earbuds) vs over-ear headphones? Or are they all just headphones? 
This message was edited 2/28/2017, 8:48 AM
1
Nope, we call them both headphones. You might specify 'in-ear' or 'over-ear/on-ear' but I honestly have never really been in a situation where I had to specify.
1
Earbuds are definitely not communal where I'm from. Everyone has their own pair, even little kids.
1
This could be a language issue. Earbuds here don't come in pairs - they come in little plastic jars from which one removes one, uses it and discards it forever. How do yours work?
1
Does knowing what Americans call earbuds change your initial shocked reaction to having them personalized?
1
You buy a pair, like this:
They last for a while. The pair I'm currently using have lasted two years, so far. I just clean the wax from them when they get dirty.
They last for a while. The pair I'm currently using have lasted two years, so far. I just clean the wax from them when they get dirty.
1
I think Anneza thought y'all were talking about ear plugs you wear when you sleep.
This message was edited 2/28/2017, 6:13 AM
1
I did NOT catch on to that. Whoops. :P
1
Eww
I wouldn't want to use something other people stick in their bodies, even if it is just their ears.
I wouldn't want to use something other people stick in their bodies, even if it is just their ears.
1
You're actually advised not to share earbuds, as earwax is full of bacteria...
1
Yeah, there was a little plastic ... I guess it was a reel for the cables? printed with names. Seems like not such a bad idea, since it's an item that might be lost and readopted, or stolen, and there is usually not much space to write a name on them.
I can only guess that youth who use earbuds lose them frequently, because they're a common item to find at retail checkout stations, along with nail trimmers, batteries, and candy.
I'd take a bow for my kids not being interested, but I don't deserve to, because we were in an actual candy shop when I saw the earbuds :-)
I can only guess that youth who use earbuds lose them frequently, because they're a common item to find at retail checkout stations, along with nail trimmers, batteries, and candy.
I'd take a bow for my kids not being interested, but I don't deserve to, because we were in an actual candy shop when I saw the earbuds :-)
1