Agreed on the walking, disagreed on the disconnection. Personally I feel like people have gotten disconnected from the world at large and each other for little more than a few tunes and podcasts.

I see everyone everywhere with earbuds stuffed into their ears - drowning out the activity and life all around them, absorbed into tunes that they've heard a million times already before.

I am often tempted to do the same - but over the last month I've made a concerted effort to eliminate headphone use while out and about (including commuting), and I think I'm a lot better off for it. I've had many an interesting conversation, have been more aware of my surroundings, and generally noticed and appreciated a lot of the things around me in the city that I used to just walk past without the slightest awareness.

I highly recommend this to anyone.