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Original poster

Wouldn't you turn it off? Noise on public space

84 replies

BarrelOfOtters · 06/08/2023 19:42

On a crowded ferry. A family have a Christmas song on permanent loop on an ipad for thei baby. For 3 hours. It's not loud, but it's audible.

OP posts:
ItsNotRocketSalad · 07/08/2023 13:41

NaughtPoppy · 06/08/2023 20:00

Quiet iPad music is surely preferable to crying baby?

Every time on these threads, somebody comes out with this false dichotomy. Are you that lacking in imagination or that bad at parenting?

Sigmama · 07/08/2023 13:45

Tinkly - even a bit of leeway for young kids is not workable, who's to agree on noise levels? Headphones or no volume- what ever the age

YorkshirePuddingsGreatestFan · 07/08/2023 13:57

Had to tell two teens off on holiday that were sitting next to us on a boat trip.

It was a mixed language group. The guide was giving the information in Spanish which they were listening to, then they were playing TikTok videos loudly while he was saying the English version and we couldn't hear what he was saying.

Parents were oblivious to it.

ClaraBourne · 07/08/2023 14:15

My partner does this in the house. We are watching something on to and he's on Twitter constantly and rather than put his headphones on will put the phone up to his ear. We can still hear it. He knows I hate it but still does it.

It utter selfishness and I think some people get a kick out of it.

yogasaurus · 07/08/2023 14:15

Bearbookagainandagain · 07/08/2023 13:23

I think it depends on the age of the baby and whether they had any other options (which you probably wouldn't know).
I too hate when people watch their iPad or play music/videos without headphones, kids or adults. I would never leave my toddler watch videos in public with the sound on, but when he was a baby we would rock him in his pushchair with the music on our phone, not loud at all but definitely audible. This was the fastest way to get him to sleep, the only other option was to listen to him scream for 30-60 min. I completely acknowledge that the music could be annoying for others but I still think they preferred that to the alternative...

it wasn't 1 song though!

No, people would have preferred it if you’d taken the crying baby outside.

AppleDumplingWithCustard · 07/08/2023 14:52

I had the misfortune of travelling on a train recently where a delightful man was watching a porn film on his phone at full blast. So that was lovely.

readbooksdrinktea · 07/08/2023 17:03

AppleDumplingWithCustard · 07/08/2023 14:52

I had the misfortune of travelling on a train recently where a delightful man was watching a porn film on his phone at full blast. So that was lovely.

FFS! Gross.

MolkosTeenageAngst · 07/08/2023 17:08

rookiemere · 07/08/2023 11:53

Even if the DC is ND, what happens if there are other ND people who can't cope with loud noises or people with hearing impediments who can't hear with background noise ?

I agree that it becomes difficult then, I’m ND (autism & adhd) and hate repetitive noise so a song on repeat would be excruciating for me. I wear earplugs (loop or calmer depending on setting) and always carry headphones with music for situations where there might be annoying background noise I need to block out, but can see it would be difficult if somebody wasn’t able to tolerate ear defenders/ earplugs or headphones but also couldn’t tolerate noise. It is very difficult to balance everybody’s needs in a public place and people should be considerate of others, but for some families if they couldn’t distract their child with an iPad they might never be able to leave the house. Somebody who couldn’t cope with background noise probably wouldn’t cope with the noise of a meltdown either, if the choice was quiet background music or a loud meltdown watching a child try and bang their own head off the floor, bite their arms or poke their eyes till they bleed whilst screaming and crying (all relatively common meltdown behaviours I have dealt with in young children) for 2 hours I know which I would find easier to ignore. OP said that the music wasn’t loud and that the family appeared to be on the last leg of a long journey, it might be that they had tried all of the distraction techniques in the previous hours but were now at a point where it was give in to the child or face a meltdown and possibly not being allowed onto the plane if their child was too distressed.

SgtBilko · 07/08/2023 17:14

jenbj · 07/08/2023 08:44

I say something when this happen on buses or trains. Not every time, but generally I do and I find people get a bit arsey then stop. And surprise surprise, other people then start saying thanks.

Or my other tactic is to sit next to them and play my own music/video at full volume. They usually then move somewhere else and I switch mine off.

Love this tactic!

I asked someone if he could stop playing the show he was watching on his phone full volume so loudly right in my ear on the bus. I’d moved over so it wasn’t so penetrating but he did the same so I snapped at him. He was very apologetic but ffs.

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