Speaker

I was I travelling in the bus. There was a woman seated next to me. She appears to be a little younger than me. She was watching some content on her phone. Not using the headphones but using the full speaker volume. It gave me headache. I waited for 5 minutes. The speaker was still on blasting the full volume. I don't know what she was watching but that was very loud. I politely requested her to reduce the volume. In return I got nothing but angry looks, as if I was asking her to handover her belongings.

I am sure this must have happened with you as well. This incident is why I feel we need another lesson in digital etiquettes. This lesson is: Not to use speaker in public places.

I used to think that this is a very basic etiquette, but I have seen that most of the people do not follow it. I have seen that a lot of people in public places do not use the headphones and rather put everything on speaker. Do they think that they are doing Public Service by making everybody listen to the content that they are watching? Do they think that it is normal to play everything on speaker? Do they think that everybody around them wants to listen to the content that they are watching? Do they think they have the power to decide what should fall on everybody else's ears who are around them? I think that nowadays people have lost there capacity to think.

I see this everywhere that people have put the content on speaker. When anybody tells them to reduce the volume they get upset. And then they play The Victim card. They would ask something like is it a crime to watch their favorite show in public? Why does everybody target the young women? Why does nobody care about the elderly? It is uncomfortable to use headphone. It is harmful to use the headphones. They come up with thousands of justifications and excuses to show that they are the victims of the situation. People easily get offended when they are told to reduce the volume of the content. This is completely baffling to me.

I completely agree that it is uncomfortable to use the headphones at all times. Being someone with ear disorders I completely understand how harmful it is to use the headphones. However the ask is very simple: do not expose others to the content that you intend to watch. Nobody is forcing you to consume the content in the public spaces. Go to your home or any private area and watch the content anyway you want. You have no right to disrupt the order of the public spaces.

I believe it is a very simple etiquette that need to be taught to everyone nowadays. It takes little awareness and mindfulness to understand that no one is entitled to live the life the way they want it. There are certain rules and etiquettes to be followed so that everybody can stay comfortable. Hence I would request all of you to please reduce the volume of the content in the public species or watch the content using the headphones in the public spaces, it is for the benefit of everyone.