Largely it's because the takeoff and landing are the most dangerous part of the flight and if the FAs have to bark instructions in an emergency they don't want people with headphones on and AC/DC cranked. It's easier to say 'turn everything off' than worry about being specific ("Gameboys are OK if you're not wearing headphones")
Last edited by gglave; Oct 26, 2009 at 1:50 pm