WeekendTraveler

2 examples today:

1. Guy in the lounge, on a phone call with the airline, getting some ticketing sorted out. He used headphones and kept his voice down. Totally fine.

2. A guy at the gate, watching videos on one phone, with volume way up, and using another phone to talk to someone, while yelling, all talking about his drunken night last night (but it could have been any non-urgent topic). That’s an example of what irks me.

andrewesque

I guess I'm of the mindset that these kinds of "why" questions for cultural norms generally don't have a productive answer, or alternatively the answer is "because it's the cultural norm, so that's the way it is." It feels similar to me to asking:

• Why is it rude to start a conversation in France without bonjour? Answer: because that's the way it is
• Why is it rude to call older relatives in Chinese culture by their given names? Answer: because that's the way it is
• Why is it the social norm not to directly ask what a friend's salary is in US culture? Answer: because that's the way it is

I mean obviously one can often trace these to some underlying reason, but the fact remains that cultural norms are just arbitrary, and also vary!. (It would feel very odd/robotic if I called my American aunt "Aunt Number Three," but in Mandarin doing this -- i.e. 三阿姨 -- is absolutely normal. Similarly, in some social groups it's probably normal to ask about salary, but in others it's viewed as absolutely gauche.)

I hasten to add that I too don't like loud noises when traveling (I hate when people play loud music audibly on the NYC subway), but (1) I'm aware that my preferences are not everyone's preferences and (2) I'm aware of the ultimately arbitrary nature of these kinds of cultural preferences -- why is playing music loudly generally viewed as bad by most people, whereas talking on the phone is not?

Finally, I also think this thread is going a little bit poorly because we are all not talking about the same thing. Is "being quiet while traveling" avoiding all phone calls? Or just avoiding talking loudly? Or literally being completely silent? I don't think everyone is on the same page.

Red L

It might be time for you to invest in some (more than $5) noise-canceling headphones and wear them whenever you are in a public place.

invisible

So you decided to unload your frustration here?

It won't be too long until someone tells you to take a hike to the nearest lake.

WeekendTraveler

I have Bose Quiet Confort 45s.

WeekendTraveler

They can go for it. They’ll get really far in an airport lounge where the rule is that you must use earphones when listening to a device, but they don’t.

Bring it on.

Palal

OP - have you ever asked people to talk quieter or are you one of those passive aggressive types that puts up with it and then spews it all out on FT?

Qwkynuf

What if there were no rhetorical questions......?

;-)

PointsPanda

Maybe have a more realistic goal to have more airports turn off their load annoying PA systems announcing every darn flight, and repeating lame anouncemnets over and over again. (Yes, we obviously know you can't smoke indoors its 2023!) This is so outdated there are screens everywhere plus smartphones.

Recently Lima airport decided to turn off their PA system unless its for emergencies and OMG its like night and day compared to the last time I was there. This to me is far more annoying then someone talking loud on their phone which you can easily get away from, and not a realistic goal to not allow people to use their cellphone in a public place.

Get some noise cancelling earbuds dude.

Unimatrix One

Thank God I live in Japan. Every time I visit the US, I am astonished by the number of people yelling into their phones in public places, often with the speaker on.

I've had experiences in airport lounges for Japanese airlines where everyone was very quiet except for one or two Americans bellowing into their phones. Everyone in the lounge could hear every word of the conversation.

Unimatrix One

Somehow it works in Japan (population 120 million).

kokonutz

The solution is the same as the babies and toddlers in premium cabin issue: noise canceling headphones.

invisible

Every single time I was at ANA lounges in NRT or HND (I've been in Japan >20 times until Covid), there is at least one Japanese who is slurping udon with such noise that you can hear it from the entrance.

zymm

There aren't all that many countries where being quiet is a norm, and even if there were, every country has loud idiots.

Barrheadlass

I’m wondering why I spent so much time reading the OP’s rant. There must be a better way to spend time. And I prefer quiet myself! I travel alone, virtually never speak in airports, never put on noise at home, but still!