Not mean, just too buried in ebooks & iPods to notice
"Good grief," quoth the older woman standing in the subway with a cane slung over her elbow. A woman with a child in her arms was standing right in front of her. Why hadn't anyone given her a seat?
The older woman pulled the earbuds out of her ears, turned to the woman standing with an armful of child, and said, "You may be proud, but I ain't." Then she tapped the seated man in front of her on the shoulder and said, "Could you please give this woman a seat?" The man stood up immediately, and Ms. Cane-Enabled told the woman carrying the child to take the just-vacated seat.
People are so wrapped up in their electronic devices that they don't even notice when a person needs help anymore. :( But they do help once they realize that help is needed.