# What are people listening to when walking around with earphones plugged into their cell phone **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2018, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-people-listening-to-when-walking-around-with-earphones-plugged-into-their-cell-phone/817886 "2018-07-14T08:58:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-people-listening-to-when-walking-around-with-earphones-plugged-into-their-cell-phone/817886/41 "2018-07-16T19:24:58Z")
Basically I see it (ear buds) as a signal. It says “don’t bother me”. And I respect that. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-people-listening-to-when-walking-around-with-earphones-plugged-into-their-cell-phone/817886/42 "2018-07-16T20:05:58Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Basically I see it (ear buds) as a signal. It says “don’t bother me”. And I respect that. Thank you!! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-people-listening-to-when-walking-around-with-earphones-plugged-into-their-cell-phone/817886/43 "2018-07-16T20:16:30Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I listen to stations in Ann Arbor, New York, Boston, Seattle, who knows where, on my iphone. If I went to air it sounds like I get only local stations. It would defeat the whole purpose of having the phone for me. > > I listen to Marc Marons podcast, but leave it at that. I’m usually listening to radio on my phone. It should be able to do both. Your phone should be able to stream radio stations using its data connection, and also play broadcast FM signals as an FM radio. You could get a radio station from Seattle while you’re in Miami via the streaming service, but also get local FM broadcast stations if your data connection fails. I usually have a 4G signal, or wifi, but plenty of times I’ve been in places without either. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-people-listening-to-when-walking-around-with-earphones-plugged-into-their-cell-phone/817886/44 "2018-07-16T20:26:46Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > It should be able to do both. Your phone should be able to stream radio stations using its data connection, and also play broadcast FM signals as an FM radio. You could get a radio station from Seattle while you’re in Miami via the streaming service, but also get local FM broadcast stations if your data connection fails. I usually have a 4G signal, or wifi, but plenty of times I’ve been in places without either. Not all phones have the FM function enabled by the manufacturer. My current phone, a BLU R1 HD, doesn’t. I downloaded the NextRadio app, and all I could do was stream music. I could not pick up any over the air stations. Yes, I did plug my earbuds in for an antenna, but there was not even a tuner interface. The stations I picked up were streaming over my data connection. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-people-listening-to-when-walking-around-with-earphones-plugged-into-their-cell-phone/817886/45 "2018-07-16T21:08:45Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > It should be able to do both. Your phone should be able to stream radio stations using its data connection, and also play broadcast FM signals as an FM radio. You could get a radio station from Seattle while you’re in Miami via the streaming service, but also get local FM broadcast stations if your data connection fails. I usually have a 4G signal, or wifi, but plenty of times I’ve been in places without either. The stations I listen to all have apps. It’s not that I think you can’t do both. But streaming makes it archaic. FM is not a going concern. That is unless people start listening on the stream and support college, Public, and freeform radio all over the country. If we don’t I have a feeling that FM over the air may fade away. You understand the difference between hearing streams of stations from the world over and just hearing the local FM holdouts with a lot of static and dropouts I would guess. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-people-listening-to-when-walking-around-with-earphones-plugged-into-their-cell-phone/817886/46 "2018-07-16T21:41:10Z")
No cite, but my impression is that significant numbers of people still do listen to over-the-air radio. Maybe not so much on their smartphones, but on their car radios, boomboxes, etc. Local radio is still one source for local news, sports, weather, and traffic reports. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-people-listening-to-when-walking-around-with-earphones-plugged-into-their-cell-phone/817886/47 "2018-07-16T23:48:42Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > No cite, but my impression is that significant numbers of people still do listen to over-the-air radio. Maybe not so much on their smartphones, but on their car radios, boomboxes, etc. Local radio is still one source for local news, sports, weather, and traffic reports. I’m a long time FM listener and I feel like it’s being threatened. Jazz played by real people is disappearing. I haven’t listened to commercial radio in decades though. When I’m out I have options for news and weather. I could get local NPR on the stream. With spotty reception even locally, esp with college radio stations, it’s a no brainer for me to use stream for radio. But in my car I listen to the FM. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-people-listening-to-when-walking-around-with-earphones-plugged-into-their-cell-phone/817886.md?page=2)