I was reading this article and one line in there reminded me of something I saw the other day.

Out with the family, finishing up dinner. I’m waiting for my kiddos to finish up, so I’m doing a bit of people watching in the restaurant. Our table was situated by the main route to the exit doors, so of course I get to watch lots of the people going in and out of the restaurant. One group that struck me was a family, Mom & Dad leading the way, then the kids following up behind… each with their iPod ear buds in, their noses buried down in the iPod’s watching some video, and the kids playing bumper cars with the tables and chairs as they make their way to the door.

I had a Sony Walkman when I was kid. It was a great companion during my morning paper route deliveries, blasting ZZ Top’s Eliminator and throwing the papers up on the porches with an arm circle like Rev. Billy and Dusty Hill did in their videos. Do my kids have iPod’s? Nope. Not just a matter of hearing damage (which I suffer from due to years of loud music and early years of neglecting things like ear plugs), but a matter of being unaware of your surroundings.

I’ve experienced it many times. People walking around with their eyes pointed at the ground or just oblivious to what’s going on around them. Couple that with things that either deaden or overtake your senses (e.g. your vision distracted by a book or a video, your hearing dominated by the music that comes out of the iPod). Furthermore, if you’re listening to music or watching/reading something, you’re mentally engaged in that and not other things. So you can see, there are many layers that add up to a rather unaware state of being.

I realize it’s your business if you choose to tune out the world. But if you do choose to do so, don’t be surprised if you’re viewed as a ripe target for someone willing to take advantage of you… and your first post-situation thought is “they caught me by surprise… I wasn’t aware of them until they were on top of me”. Be pro-active, don’t let it happen to you, stay aware of your situation. And teach your kids the same.