If I see a situation that may turn sour—and let’s face it, many of them potentially could—I should put on my headphones as a way of controlling my surroundings. I don’t actually have to listen to music. But now I have a socially acceptable way to selectively drown out conversation. I can still hear everything at the table, so I don’t miss important information, but I no longer have to acknowledge hearing it. I have an escape plan, one that gives me a degree of control that’s otherwise missing.
