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There's an important difference: the subtle face mimicry is extremely important for sub-conscious (and conscious) communication. Having headphones on is rude be

There's an important difference: the subtle face mimicry is extremely important for sub-conscious (and conscious) communication. Having headphones on is rude because it indicates that the other person is not interested in hearing what you have to say. The problem with having an opaque visor covering your face is not that it's rude, it's that you completely lose the non-verbal part of communication. This is why email and phone communication can be so easy to misunderstand. Without seeing the face and body languages of the other person, your mind will have a tendency to overlay biases and prejudices on what is being communicated. A simple "sure, whatever" can be interpreted as obnoxiously dismissive, as a surrender, or friendly banter. If you can see the body language of the other person, the intent is usually clear. If you can't, it isn't.

diffeomorphism 3y ago
It used to be rude because people understood it to signal that. With younger people earbuds seem more like a fashion statement (you also don't take off ear rings to talk to people) and the noise cancelling/transparency will actually do the opposite: filter out background noise so that you can be heard more clearly. Similarly taking out a Nokia used to signal that you will not be paying attention for a while. Nowadays it might instead be you taking a nice photo, showing off something to others etc. VR headsets are definitely not at this point yet, but I am not so sure they never will be.
- short_sells_poo 3y ago
  My point is that with the current VR implementation the problem is not about rudeness, but fundamentally hampering personal communication. If I go and meet with someone in person, I generally do it because I want to see them up close, face to face. If we are both wearing VR headsets that hide our faces, the whole premise goes out the window. Eventually, VR headsets might overcome this problem by accurately portraying the other person's face in some way, but we are nowhere there yet.

diffeomorphism 3y ago

It used to be rude because people understood it to signal that. With younger people earbuds seem more like a fashion statement (you also don't take off ear rings to talk to people) and the noise cancelling/transparency will actually do the opposite: filter out background noise so that you can be heard more clearly. Similarly taking out a Nokia used to signal that you will not be paying attention for a while. Nowadays it might instead be you taking a nice photo, showing off something to others etc. VR headsets are definitely not at this point yet, but I am not so sure they never will be.

short_sells_poo 3y ago
My point is that with the current VR implementation the problem is not about rudeness, but fundamentally hampering personal communication. If I go and meet with someone in person, I generally do it because I want to see them up close, face to face. If we are both wearing VR headsets that hide our faces, the whole premise goes out the window. Eventually, VR headsets might overcome this problem by accurately portraying the other person's face in some way, but we are nowhere there yet.