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The article is interesting but I wish it went deeper into one of the theses: that people aren't craving silence as much as they are craving a lack of distractio

The article is interesting but I wish it went deeper into one of the theses: that people aren't craving silence as much as they are craving a lack of distraction. Noise has always existed in varying levels, but what I think may be different about the 21st century is how distracted our environments have become, which can feel like noise. Here's something strange that happened to me last week. I went to my local gas station to fill up the tank on my car. As I was standing idly and staring off into the distance, I heard a voice talking to me. I spun around but nobody was around me. Afterwards I noticed that the voice was coming from a small, iPhone 8-sized screen embedded on the gas pump. It was showing advertisements as well as looping the "Hot News" of the day. Admittedly, I became irrationally angry about this. It felt like an invasion of my mental space. Here I was pumping gas, already paying money to the business, why are they continuing to invade my mental space, which is the last bastion of "freedom" an individual can have? I noticed the whole event put me in a heightened state of tension and anxiety. I wanted to leave as fast as I could. I wasn't bothered by the other cars driving on the road, I wasn't bothered by the local homeless population trading and bartering a few dozen feet from me, I wasn't bothered by any of this background noise. What bothered me, and what felt "noisy" to me, was this invasion of my mindshare.

bnferguson 8y ago
Those gas pump screens are terrible, turns out a great deal of them have an unlabeled mute button, which has made me much happier when having to deal with them: https://www.reddit.com/r/lifehacks/comments/5szod1/hit_this_button_to_silence_the_ads_at_the_gas_pump/ https://www.reddit.com/r/lifehacks/comments/5szod1/hit_this_...
- BigHatLogan 8y ago
  Interesting! This is exactly what I was talking about. I do wish the Mute button was better labeled. The gas station I'm talking about has completely unlabelled buttons. No doubt this was a conscious design decision. I'm conflicted about this whole thing because, on the one hand, it is within the right of the private organization to do this. They see empty space and decide that they can cut a deal with the local News station and make some extra revenue. I completely understand that and I can sympathize with it. On the other hand, at what point do things become "Too Much?" I'm foreseeing a Bladerunner world where advertisements dominate the landscape and all areas of our life. The death knell will be when I go to a State Park or a National Park and see an advertisement for refinancing my home next to a century-old tree. I haven't been to a park in a few years so perhaps this has already happened...
  - throwaway37585 8y ago
    > it is within the right of the private organization to do this Right, but it’s also your right not to do business with them. It’s ok to vote with your feet (or wallet).
- zeta0134 8y ago
  They're fortunately uncommon enough in my city that whenever I do encounter them, I make a mental note never to visit that particular gas station again.
hfdgiutdryg 8y ago
I live in Oregon, where you can't pump your own gas (except in very limited circumstances). I stopped at a station that I don't normally used and was horrified to see one of those in-pump screens blaring away. My annoyance turned to laughter when I realized that you can't even see or really hear the screen from inside a car (I was on a motorcycle). The ads just play to the poor, beleaguered station attendant all day long.
- BigHatLogan 8y ago
  Not being allowed to pump your own gas has always fascinated me. I believe Vermont also has the same law in place. Or maybe it was New Hampshire? Does the overall price increase as a result of not being allowed to pump your own gas? From the gas station standpoint, they would need to offset the wages given to the station attendant. Is this difference passed down to the customer?
  - brightsize 8y ago
    In Vermont and New Hampshire ("Live Free or Die"!) you can pump your own gas. New Jersey is the other full-service-only state I believe.
  - rootusrootus 8y ago
    There is no cost benefit. Self-service increases the insurance premiums for a gas station about as much as it costs to pay the people who man the pumps. I still want the option to pump my own gas, but I have resigned myself to the fact that it will probably not happen here. Even if we made it a requirement that full service still be offered at no additional cost, Oregonians would vote it down.
    - yason 8y ago
      Self-service increases the insurance premiums for a gas station about as much as it costs to pay the people who man the pumps It would be interesting to know why this doesn't seem to hold true in other places. I don't think higher premiums would be near-universally accepted as a cost of doing business if there is a way to save money. Or are these states such places where it is particularly cheap to hire pump assistants?
sandworm101 8y ago
Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Pumping gas is common but not casual. Fires do happen and people are injured. One day someone will cause a fire and claim they were distracted by this screen. That will end the practice.
jdtang13 8y ago
> Admittedly, I became irrationally angry about this. It felt like an invasion of my mental space. Here I was pumping gas, already paying money to the business, why are they continuing to invade my mental space, which is the last bastion of "freedom" an individual can have? I just had to leave a comment on this -- Your observations are quite well-written and not pretentious at all. Have you considered writing a French-language 20th century existentialist city-novel? Joking aside, this is pretty much exactly how I feel whenever I listen to obnoxious radio ads in Ubers.
- BigHatLogan 8y ago
  Haha your comment made me laugh. Or rather: It evoked a sense of humor out of me! Kidding. I haven't taken an Uber in quite some time, but I was in a taxi earlier this year. There was a small television, not unlike the one at the gas station, playing advertisements. It took every ounce of strength and fiber in my body not to jump out of the window. I know the feeling.
christophilus 8y ago
If I drive up to a gas pump and notice one of those screens, I drive away. I shop at Target instead of a variety of their competitors solely because Target doesn't play music. When visiting doctors offices or similar places with waiting areas, if they have a TV blasting noise at me, I turn it off, unplug it, or go outside and tell their staff where they can find me. Honestly, I may have a disorder, as most people I know aren't so bothered by background noise. In my case, natural background noise (e.g. rain, wind, birds, etc) is fine, but advertisements, radio, TV, nearby conversations at bars/restaurants-- these stress me out. Someday, I hope that we see light and sound pollution for what it is-- pollution.
- yial 8y ago
  I, and my father(whom I didn’t really grow up around that much) have discussed that we both find TVs, nearby conversations, etc... very distracting. Especially at restaurants. For me, it’s much easier to hear and focus in on these other noises many times then to focus and discern what my dining partners are saying.

bnferguson 8y ago

Those gas pump screens are terrible, turns out a great deal of them have an unlabeled mute button, which has made me much happier when having to deal with them: https://www.reddit.com/r/lifehacks/comments/5szod1/hit_this_button_to_silence_the_ads_at_the_gas_pump/ https://www.reddit.com/r/lifehacks/comments/5szod1/hit_this_...

BigHatLogan 8y ago
Interesting! This is exactly what I was talking about. I do wish the Mute button was better labeled. The gas station I'm talking about has completely unlabelled buttons. No doubt this was a conscious design decision. I'm conflicted about this whole thing because, on the one hand, it is within the right of the private organization to do this. They see empty space and decide that they can cut a deal with the local News station and make some extra revenue. I completely understand that and I can sympathize with it. On the other hand, at what point do things become "Too Much?" I'm foreseeing a Bladerunner world where advertisements dominate the landscape and all areas of our life. The death knell will be when I go to a State Park or a National Park and see an advertisement for refinancing my home next to a century-old tree. I haven't been to a park in a few years so perhaps this has already happened...
- throwaway37585 8y ago
  > it is within the right of the private organization to do this Right, but it’s also your right not to do business with them. It’s ok to vote with your feet (or wallet).
zeta0134 8y ago
They're fortunately uncommon enough in my city that whenever I do encounter them, I make a mental note never to visit that particular gas station again.

hfdgiutdryg 8y ago

I live in Oregon, where you can't pump your own gas (except in very limited circumstances). I stopped at a station that I don't normally used and was horrified to see one of those in-pump screens blaring away. My annoyance turned to laughter when I realized that you can't even see or really hear the screen from inside a car (I was on a motorcycle). The ads just play to the poor, beleaguered station attendant all day long.

BigHatLogan 8y ago
Not being allowed to pump your own gas has always fascinated me. I believe Vermont also has the same law in place. Or maybe it was New Hampshire? Does the overall price increase as a result of not being allowed to pump your own gas? From the gas station standpoint, they would need to offset the wages given to the station attendant. Is this difference passed down to the customer?
- brightsize 8y ago
  In Vermont and New Hampshire ("Live Free or Die"!) you can pump your own gas. New Jersey is the other full-service-only state I believe.
- rootusrootus 8y ago
  There is no cost benefit. Self-service increases the insurance premiums for a gas station about as much as it costs to pay the people who man the pumps. I still want the option to pump my own gas, but I have resigned myself to the fact that it will probably not happen here. Even if we made it a requirement that full service still be offered at no additional cost, Oregonians would vote it down.
  - yason 8y ago
    Self-service increases the insurance premiums for a gas station about as much as it costs to pay the people who man the pumps It would be interesting to know why this doesn't seem to hold true in other places. I don't think higher premiums would be near-universally accepted as a cost of doing business if there is a way to save money. Or are these states such places where it is particularly cheap to hire pump assistants?

sandworm101 8y ago

Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Pumping gas is common but not casual. Fires do happen and people are injured. One day someone will cause a fire and claim they were distracted by this screen. That will end the practice.

jdtang13 8y ago

> Admittedly, I became irrationally angry about this. It felt like an invasion of my mental space. Here I was pumping gas, already paying money to the business, why are they continuing to invade my mental space, which is the last bastion of "freedom" an individual can have? I just had to leave a comment on this -- Your observations are quite well-written and not pretentious at all. Have you considered writing a French-language 20th century existentialist city-novel? Joking aside, this is pretty much exactly how I feel whenever I listen to obnoxious radio ads in Ubers.

BigHatLogan 8y ago
Haha your comment made me laugh. Or rather: It evoked a sense of humor out of me! Kidding. I haven't taken an Uber in quite some time, but I was in a taxi earlier this year. There was a small television, not unlike the one at the gas station, playing advertisements. It took every ounce of strength and fiber in my body not to jump out of the window. I know the feeling.

christophilus 8y ago

If I drive up to a gas pump and notice one of those screens, I drive away. I shop at Target instead of a variety of their competitors solely because Target doesn't play music. When visiting doctors offices or similar places with waiting areas, if they have a TV blasting noise at me, I turn it off, unplug it, or go outside and tell their staff where they can find me. Honestly, I may have a disorder, as most people I know aren't so bothered by background noise. In my case, natural background noise (e.g. rain, wind, birds, etc) is fine, but advertisements, radio, TV, nearby conversations at bars/restaurants-- these stress me out. Someday, I hope that we see light and sound pollution for what it is-- pollution.

yial 8y ago
I, and my father(whom I didn’t really grow up around that much) have discussed that we both find TVs, nearby conversations, etc... very distracting. Especially at restaurants. For me, it’s much easier to hear and focus in on these other noises many times then to focus and discern what my dining partners are saying.