Bizarre incident on train...

Sounds a bit rude. A bloke round the corner from us always does things like that. He’s got ld and also schizophrenia I think. People always say horrible things to him too but he’s just trying to be friendly in his own way.

People saying OP was rude have clearly never experienced the absolutely creepy and disgusting behaviour of some men on the London Underground. Better safe than sorry OP, and he had no right to look at your phone or ask you about what was on it.

I had a colleague who would look at my phone and ask what I was doing all the time, REALLY fucking annoying.

Headphones are your friend when travelling alone on the tube but only during busy hours not when its empty.

Have to agree with the northern comments here! Upon reading this I didn’t find it strange or odd, if anything I would probably have turned my phone to them and showed them more photos of the exhibition and chatted to them about it if somebody showed an interest and I think that wouldn’t be viewed as strange up north at all.

BUT I would say that it is contextual, and if I got creepy vibes from a man and felt unsafe you’re not unreasonable to shut him down at all.

Love all these PPs who, when being pestered while distracted by a strange man on a packed tube, would politely decline with an articulate yet businesslike response.

Sure you would.

Well sorry but I think you sound paranoid and I think you were rude.

In your situation I would have answered his question. If I didn’t want to chat I would have followed up with “I’m not in the mood for chatting though sorry, hope you’re not offended, it’s not personal.”

At that point, if he didn’t respect my wishes I would move.

You did nothing wrong. So annoying when people want to chat and you just want to be in your zone.

You done the right thing. What a bloody cheek he had.

Men are never rude when they don’t respect womens boundaries

Oh FGS

I'm all for 'boundaries' (MN fave word) but some people need to take their heads out of their bums.

It's a tube journey. Give a short answer, ignore, move to another carriage if they become too chatty and a pest.

Exactly. Pretty damn rude. There's a difference. You definitely sounded worse.

I’m Northern and it’s considered “normal” to strike up a conversation and be friendly to complete strangers, especially on public transport.

^^ This.

I'm northern and have heard people's entire life stories while waiting for a bus or on a train journey.

The other person might be incredibly lonely and the only conversation they get all day.

Is it really too awful to humour them for a while, without making it look as if you are rejecting a perceived sexual advance?

You need to lighten up.

To those saying OP was more in the wrong for rudeness - if the man in this story was making a Mumsnet thread "AIBU to have looked at a stranger's phone on the tube?" would you really be replying "YANBU, that woman sounds like the rude one." ??

Public transport isn't private, especially when you sit so closely to other people.
I think you were very rude in your response. You could have just said 'oh just an art exhibition', closed your phone down, moved seats at the next stop. If he'd continued, then a sterner response may have been warranted.

YANBU. As PP has said politeness is just a red flag to a bull. I've spent so many hours 'courteously' trying to get rid of men on public transport. They are thick skinned. These kind of intrusive men don't take no for an answer.

From a manners perspective it was just plain rude and uncalled for

Yes - it was incredibly rude of the man to look at someone else’s phone.

where were HIS manners? Or is it just us women that must make sure we are poised and biddable at all times?

Men are never rude when they don’t respect womens boundaries

Women are always rude when they tell men to respect their boundaries

I would bet an enormous sum of money he has never asked about the pictures of six foot male rugby player

but this thread shows how much some women don’t understand what they’re been told is being polite is actually it is your job to accommodate and entertain other people (mostly men)

You were rude.

It's quite possible to give someone the message without being rude.

If you'd said' Just photos from an exhibition' that would have been fine.

Bloody London eh? Someone asks a question and the other person gets rude and huffy.

Would you have reacted the same way in a cafe if someone had sat at your table and spoken to you?

If I’m being 100% honest. I’d have probably ignored him and made it look like I didn’t/couldn’t hear him.

I’m Northern and it’s considered “normal” to strike up a conversation and be friendly to complete strangers, especially on public transport. I don’t like it. I’m an introvert. I hate small talk, it’s just too awkward. You also run the risk of being nice to a random man and it giving them the sense that it’s an open invitation to sexual harassment.

The problem with all the 'polite' responses suggested is that they open the door to further conversation: 'where was the exhibition?' 'what was it about?' etc. It's really easy to get increasingly sucked into a conversation that makes you feel uncomfortable. I might have just completely ignored him, but that's not any politer. What he did was rude - yes, we can all see each other's screens on the tube but it's rude to comment - and you didn't owe him a conversation.

This reminded me of when I opened a text from my fiance on the bus thinking nothing of it and he had sent me a full posed nude lol