Specifically Apple Earbuds...

Many people complain about the quality of these earbuds, but that's not directly what this blog will be about.

This will be more focused on personal safety and situational awareness.

Most experts will say that under no circumstances should you be listening to music and in essence "seal yourself off from the world" when in public. I tend to agree with that under most circumstances and with most earbuds or headphones, but I think the Apple Earbuds are an exception.

I view these earbuds as a possible way to enhance your personal safety rather than detract from it.

These days in any major city, and most smaller locales for that matter, it is the norm to see everyone walking around with their collective head's buried in their phones and earbuds in their ears. Most of these folks are completely oblivious to their surroundings, they're a sort of modern day zombie. In blatant opposition to the drones are those with their head on a swivel. Those that are paying attention to everyone and everything; it is likely that they're tourists, someone up to no good, or someone looking for those up to no good.

Blend In

Sometimes simply blending in with everyone else is your best defense. Now I'm not saying you should be completely engrossed in your phone and blaring whatever is the current top-of-the-chart song through your earbuds, but at least looking like you're doing that may be an asset.

From personal experience (anecdotal, not scientific) I have noticed I get far less attention from panhandlers and "lost tourists" if I have my earbuds in even if I'm not playing music. This aids in situational awareness as there are less time I get sucked into an interaction that may in fact be a distraction for a pickpocket or something similar.

Why OEM Apple Earbuds?

Simply because they're not amazing quality. They're good enough to take phone calls and casually listen to music, but they're far from noise canceling or full-on earplugs. They let plenty of other ambient noise into your ears when the volume is low or off. This allows for the wearer to pay attention to whats going on around them without looking like they are paying attention.
This sort of "covert intelligence" can give you the hints to avoid certain people or know their intentions before they make a move. It may allow you to just keep on moving by someone or it may give you the extra 1 second needed to bring a personal defense weapon into play if it is needed.

Paranoid?

Maybe a little, but I like to have any upper-hand I can when out in public especially when riding public transit or moving through crowded areas. Sometimes by feigning weakness, in this case pretending to be unaware, you can gain that slight advantage that may be the difference between staying safe or having a confrontation.