Missing the point

I've seen a substantial increase over the past few years in the number of folks out riding their bikes, going for a walk, or running for exercise along the numerous trails in North West Arknasas, built just for those type activities. The thing about this I find most interesting, is the number of these folks who are plugged into some sort of listening device (mostly I-pods I'm sure).
Although I can understand the strategy of listening to your favorite music if you're training to run in the Olympics (as a guy who used to run for exercise before I discovered jumping rope is substantially more affective) I get the music thing. But going out for a walk or a bike ride and not being able to hear the sounds of everything around you, seems to go against the point of being outside in the first place. Seems to me, if you're listeing the Snoop Dog, Fiddy Cent or Common rant and rave about stuff that for the most part doesn't make any sense in the first place, you can't fully enjoy the sites, smells and sounds of the great outdoors.