Headphones as Social Signifiers
Jessica Prendaj '25 and Lauren Lagasse '25 pose in their over ear headphones. Credit:Lily Jandrisevits '25
Walking across campus it feels impossible to ignore that the presence of small, wireless headphones has been taken over by their chunky, over-ear counterpart.
Many writers attempt to answer what this shift means and seem to be interested in Gen Z fashion trends, often writing an air of distanced wonderment.
For example, Business Insider talked with psychologist Krystine Batcho who explained the revival of past decades’ fashion trends as a response to the stress of the poor economic conditions Gen Z must now face.
“Nostalgia is a refuge, as people turn to the feelings of comfort, security and love they enjoyed in their past,” Batcho said.
Although there is some truth in this statement, it ignores a bigger phenomenon. Trends have always cycled within fashion, but the way they move today feels more stressful than ever. With access to the internet, fashion is being archived and revitalized by the week, further leading to a disjointed generation of stylistic influences.
Already, styles of the 2010s are seeing a revival. Even the classic apple wired headphones saw a short rise in popularity, often attributed to it being a conscious rejection of the ubiquitous AirPods.
An Instagram account, @wireditgirls, created by Shelby Hull, popped up in Oct. 2021 in response to a Vogue article saying that Bella Hadid is bringing back the “humbled wired headphone.” She posts celebrities like Hadid, Lily-Rose Depp, Zoe Kravitz and various other beautiful people wearing, at first, the $29 wired Apple Earpods and now a variety of headphones, other than the original AirPods of course.
Hull explained to the Wall Street Journal, “I think saying, ‘No, I don’t care about the current tech, I’m not interested, I can’t be bothered with it’—that’s very cool.”
However, even that trend focused on a rejection of AirPods as a social status. Something that was also pushed upon the consumer as Apple got rid of the universal headphone jack on iPhones has already come and gone. This status of being “cool” also seems to forget that this rejection serves as a social signifier, albeit one that rejects rather than accepts new technology.
Now, Apple AirPods Max, the sleek, over-ear counterpart to AirPod Pros has been dominating the trend cycle. The same celebrities who were just wearing the $29 earbuds are now toting over $500 over-ear headphones.
In an even more apparent way, these headphones serve as a statement. Whereas there was a rejection of the unnoticeable and minimalist AirPod Pros in favor of the wired Apple Earpods, now the AirPods Max dominates. They even come in fun colors like green, pink and blue – further making them seem like an accessory instead of purely functional items.
No matter the quality, it’s undeniable that AirPods Max serves as an accessory. They are the perfect amalgamation of prior headphones that evoke vintage aesthetics, paired with a decidedly sleek and futuristic design.
They are the headphones of the present, meaning they are simply another case of Apple doing its market research correctly.
Despite any conscious effort to reject trends or embrace them, what headphones you wear undeniably projects some social status because of the state of our world, one where what we buy and hence what we wear, is the result of some marketing.
Therefore, despite any efforts or lack thereof, your headphones make a statement. Certainly, within a few months, the trendy AirPods Max will be buying into an expensive trend as Apple diagnoses our next craving.