Are we less tolerant to noise? Neighbourhoods have always been noisy

[Fishareidiots]

Just that really.
In generations gone by I expect everyone used their gardens much more as there was less on telly, plus they weren’t all at cinema, b&q, softplay, swimming. So what has changed?
why is it now that there are so many complaints about kids playing, chatting, sunbathing in bikinis, drinking alcohol etc.

People used to say "I am not good with loud noise" or "I am no good in the heat"

Now they say "That noise is intolerable and makes me ill" or "we're all going to die"

People have become self obsessed, emotionally immature and unstable rather than specific issue with noise imo

But adults now were brought up 30 years ago

And parents now were brought up by boomers.

no one can say if the same equipment was available 60 years ago that those using it wouldn’t have made the same choices

They very much did in the 1990s suburbs of Manchester and Leeds

@HelpingOutti was 8 30 years ago. I remember 20/25 kids in next doors garden, in the paddling pool, doing talent concerts. I wouldn’t say we were quiet.

People are less considerate and have more devices that make noise.

My grandparents had hand operated mower and hedge shears. They did not have any music in the garden.
i clearly remember when I was about 6-8 years old getting there and being told to be very quiet as the man next door had died.

Already mentioned but new build houses with tiny gardens definitely don't help

Houses are smaller, gardens are smaller giving you even more neighbours on your boundaries.

We lost community in the sense of knowing your neighbours children are not allowed to play out anymore because well lost community so it doesn’t feel safe.

Also children don’t get told of for screaming and shrieking play isn’t silent but there is no need for the sheer volume that comes out.

People liked to hear the children play because it was their children all playing together and someone’s grandchildren when they where visiting and you knew where they where by the bikes or by which family had what became the communal pool up. Which parent happened to be serving the best (crap) dinner would have a whole gaggle round that night. But they knew which house you belonged to and your family knew where to find you.

Adults wouldn’t be getting pissed in front of the children and they wouldn’t be smoking weed stinking out their neighbours. There was respect because it was your village it also meant the children behaved better as they knew damn well betty across the road would come tell your parents and you’d get told off.

It was your village.

Massive change in behaviour towards individualism rather than community minded.

Many people don’t give a shit about others as long as they’re enjoying their own life

When I was a kid we never played in the yard, we were in the parks, roaming the streets and playing on building sites, we bothered no one.

And why not?

because other people are happily judgemental to their standards
older people are happy to take help and then complain your kids make a squeak

people have continuously voted to make sure each generation keeps paying more and more for less and less

a give and take world means we all give and take

kids and pets and workers are trapped in their homes and trapped intelligent mammals freak out

dogs bark
kids scream
adults drink and play music

travel a bit

many places are noisier but people don’t care as much because they aren’t all hung up on some fucking archaic snobbery class system that the UK is

they just live

it’s noisy and messy life

My father would knock round the neighbours to warn them of an upcoming (and rare) BBQ or party. They would do the same.

My neighbour threatened the last neighbour who asked him to keep it down a bit with a crow bar and screamed in broken English. It is constant drum and bass, garden fires, weed smoke and loud parties. We have multiple twats on the road who seem oblivious to their competing (shit) music.

Aboslutely delightful in this heatwave with the windows open, as you can imagine.

We have nearly amassed enough to get out of here and escape to a detatched country property in the north, thank fuck. There are a lot of neighbours though who are really decent people, and who are unfortunately trapped here and can't afford to uproot their lives and move.

I was 8 30 years ago. I remember 20/25 kids in next doors garden, in the paddling pool, doing talent concerts. I wouldn’t say we were quiet
But that wasn't every day of the summer holidays from 7am.

I’ve just been subjected to a conversation on speakerphone by a man who was in the surgery waiting room. He could at least have gone outside.

We have a new build. The garden is bigger than the house. There are six houses in our cul de sac. There are nine dogs in five houses. They bark. It’s getting very wearing.

Because life is generally busier, louder and more busy, the "bandwidth" for the human nervous system is much less. Noise heard after a generally relaxed day is much better tolerated than if you've been working and doing childcare full time, all day, week, and month, for years.

Kids are far louder now. Years ago they’d be in trouble and wouldn’t do it. No way you’d get a ball being kicked against a fence non stop without something being said to them.

People used to live multiple families in one house, and 6 kids in a terraced house! Homes are way bigger per person now.

Yes, and in our house we were told to be quite also in the garden. Even the dog was told off.
We made much less noise than smaller families around here nowadays.

Gardens are smaller than they used to be, kids are kept at home whereas they used to go out to play with their mates at the park/over the fields/in the street, fewer power tools (just a lawnmower for most), fewer options for playing music in the garden, no hot tubs or bouncy castles or trampolines.

Re the music, I do remember one neighbour who threw open his French doors to his music room on sunny weekend days and play the most amazing classical music. It was a joy as he was very good. When I was practicing my instruments my parents made me keep the windows shut! 😂

Loss of shame and lack of conformity.

In ye olden days, you'd be shamed for bad behaviour but now, it's celebrated. Everyone feels that they have the right to do what they want and blow everyone else.

If you try to uphold standards now, you're deemed stuck-up or 'up your own arse.'

The hum of my own microwave was annoying me earlier. I'm a lost cause and should probably head off to the mountains with a tent 😂.

kids are kept at home whereas they used to go out to play with their mates at the park/over the fields/in the street on a building site, on a railway line...

Sounds pretty miserable.

Maybe I'm lucky but the kids I hear from my house just sound happy.

People use power tools a lot more nowadays. They use their gardens as an extension of their living rooms (and bathrooms). They tear up shrubbery and fell trees to make way for plastic pergolas and decking so the noise echos more.

Yes, I grew up in a multiple family house, and we kids were NOT noisy, and any adult in the house could tell us off, and we used to play out. Kids were brought up to behave politely and that was called ‘ being well brought up’ !

Not really, no. We had a great childhood.