> If I were to see you walking in my neighborhood with your AirPods I would probably not bother saying hi unless I already knew you.
You can still do a slight but friendly wave or nod. That would open the door for them to verbalise a “hi” or “good morning” and strike up a conversation. And it only needs to happen once for you to know.
Also, anecdotally, over a decade ago I used to wear non-white headphones or earphones in public frequently. Yet I was still accosted by strangers all the time, asking for directions or other information, when there were plenty of other people around with nothing in their ears. Still I tried to always be helpful and friendly, even if it could get tiresome: I was always listening to a book, not music, so interruptions were meaningful distractions.
You can still do a slight but friendly wave or nod. That would open the door for them to verbalise a “hi” or “good morning” and strike up a conversation. And it only needs to happen once for you to know.
Also, anecdotally, over a decade ago I used to wear non-white headphones or earphones in public frequently. Yet I was still accosted by strangers all the time, asking for directions or other information, when there were plenty of other people around with nothing in their ears. Still I tried to always be helpful and friendly, even if it could get tiresome: I was always listening to a book, not music, so interruptions were meaningful distractions.