Comment by MBlume
1 day ago
I'd much rather be surrounded by people wearing earbuds than have people watching tiktoks through their phone speakers on the subway
1 day ago
I'd much rather be surrounded by people wearing earbuds than have people watching tiktoks through their phone speakers on the subway
That just sounds like another version of what the author is talking about: using [device] to avoid human interaction.
In a really big and busy city it's emotionally exhausting and not reasonable to have an interaction with everyone near you. The only way a lot of people can tolerate being packed into busy public transit systems on a daily basis is to intentionally ignore each other to a certain degree.
It's essentially the same unspoken etiquette rule as what you're socially expected to do if riding a crowded elevator.
Go commute by NYC subway 10 times a week, M-F especially during peak tourist season and you'll understand.
I intentionally behave completely different if I'm in a small town of 3000 people or walking down the street, shopping, riding transit in a large city.
100 years ago they sold pocket sized books so people in cities could ignore each other by reading books.
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[flagged]
and people still try and suggest public transport is great, when its a hellhole..
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I remember in the 70s and 80s people on buses and subways reading magazines and newspapers. The idea that electronic devices have ushered in some age where humans want to interact with each other less is a myth I think.
Also "Father hiding behind his newspaper at the dinner table" has been a meme since forever.
There seems to be an overall, “I’m just now aware of this phenomenon, technology must be to blame” when the phenomenon has stayed constant and the tech has shifted under it.
#moraloutrage
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I don't think that's it. I think highly anti-social behavior is often deliberate, looking for someone to challenge you. An exertion of power. That's why pretty much everyone learns to ignore the behavior and not say anything.
The only interaction you’re missing in ops post is politely asking them to turn it down and being told very aggressively to “shut the fuck up!”.
https://youtu.be/D1GyHQiuneU
Or getting killed for it.
Sure, in the same way that taking a leak in a toilet and taking a leak on the sidewalk are both ways of avoiding wetting your pants
If you can't or won't illustrate why the two are similar, avoid making the analogy. It just invites a fork in the conversation where people are going to argue "actually it's like a homeless guy taking a shit in my glove box," and other spurious diversions.
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As is driving alone in a car
Newspapers have probably been used for this on subways for this as long as subways have been around. Walkmen in the 80s.
Take me back to a simpler time in America when newspapers were used for just getting the news, and not for premodern TikTok stand-ins.
Coincidentally, the latter increases the number of the former. Most people are going to avoid confrontation and instead opt for their personal noise cancelation.
> Most people are going to avoid confrontation
Yeah buying airpods seems like better idea than being stabbed/beaten up
There is an even worse thing. Using speakerphone while on street, while holding the phone near ear anyway.
those are just people with bad manners.