Wired in

The Generation Z empire has decided to bring another trend into existence. The last of the cool millennials have sprung a trap, and the evil king of technology “Social Media” is only making things worse.

FOR YEARS,I have been humiliated, pushed around, embarrassed , and tortured. Simply for expressing my listening preference, wearing Wired headphones, instead of these so called “Airpods”.

Bluetooth headphones that were released in December, 2016. Ever since then, people who have been seen wearing wired headphones have been considered inferior, ignored, and outright disrespected.The time has come for a change.

In the past six years, Apple has created 3 different airpod types. 2nd generation, 3rd generation, and the noise canceling airpod pro. Unsurprisingly, the company has sold 27 million of it’s newest version of the airpods. And even a whopping 90 million has been sold solely during the holiday quarter of 2021.

Based on the sales and numbers, why does generation z claim that wired headphones are now making a subtle comeback?

Reason #1: Fashion and icons. People like Bella Hadid, Jake Ghyllenhal, Zoe Kravitz, Lily-Rose Depp, Hunter Schaffer, and more have been publicly seen wearing either apple wired headphones, or another company’s wired headphones.

Some have said it gives off some type of effortless “aura.” According to Teen Vogue, “The wire is the perfect indicator for identifying the “It’ girl…… The wired headphones are a lo-fi, chic signal that they don’t want to be spoken to. It keeps them looking and staying unbothered, adding a layer of mystery to their already alluring, laid back exterior.” Shelby Hull from Wired It Girl’s also told Teen Vogue that teens today are “romanticizing” that 2014 tumblr era, and “younger people are looking at music as a whole aesthetic experience rather than for practical consumption, hence the wired headphone and vinyl comeback.”

Reason # 2: bringing back the things of the past.

Much like Vinyl’s, Cassette Tapes and VHS Camcorders, objects that have been outsold by modern technology and brought back for the comfort of generation Z, wired headphones have now made their way into that “retro-esc” category. Plus, they’re also getting treated like an ancient, retro item.

Throughout the 90s, VHS tapes and camcorders were considered the best modern technology anybody could have, (mostly because they were.) But after the rise of DVD’s and the Smartphone camera, suddenly the world turned their backs on these once beloved artifacts.

The VHS was laggy, camcorders didn’t get the right lighting, Vinyl’s were staticky, but the world had nothing better, so they lived with these imperfections. Until after the upbringing of technology of course, where they found something better, so they left those things in the past.

The beauty of it all is how suddenly those items are getting brought back, and instead of “living” with these imperfections, generation Z is acknowledging those imperfections. And some even use those flaws within their art. Which brings me to the idea of this wired headphone “trend” not lasting that long, considering that fact it’s only been 6 years since they’ve been outsold, and it took a whole generation to bring back these classic items.

Reason # 3, money.

The final reason is not quite a reason, but just how people are living. The cheapest Airpod type is $160, while the cheapest apple wired headphones are $30. A Lot of people do not have the time or money to waste 160 dollars on something they can get the same experience from at a cheaper price. Music has been around since the beginning of time, Apple, has not. This generation may never see the day where Apple runs out of business, but music will live on. In a trendy fashion, or not.