All this thread shows is that people are different. The only way to assure that your own preferences are always met is to charter (or purchase) your own aircraft.
Some people are night owls, prefer to look out a window, may be on a different schedule (the flight in question has inbound connections at EWR and outbound at HKG.
It is perfectly fine to ask (or ask an FA to ask) another passenger. But, the proper etiquette is to use the eye shades if you do not like the answer.