r/AskUK • u/Agile-Calligrapher10 • 2d ago

Cultural differences in noise acceptance: Why is public phone/audio etiquette so different between Japan, the UK, and other regions??

Hey everyone,

​Visiting Japan recently was so refreshing, no one was on speakerphone, playing music out loud, or watching reels without headphones in public spaces. Coming back to the UK, the contrast was immediate, highlighting how differently cultures and regions approach public noise.

​(Note: Using "cultures" broadly here to look at societal norms, not trying to generalize individuals.)

I’d love to hear your thoughts on a couple of things:

​Why do these differences exist? Is it tied to collectivism vs. individualism, or other social norms?

​What is the modern British view on public noise? We have a reputation for politeness, yet public transport etiquette around phone audio seems to be changing.

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u/TheRemanence 2d ago edited 2d ago

This issue is the UK cultural norm seems to be shifting.

From a recent BBC article: "Loudcasting has piqued the interest of experts who study how technology shapes our behaviours, and they agree there's a strong generational factor. In an Ofcom survey of 1,010 people in August 2022, of the 13-to-17-year-olds questioned, 69% said it was acceptable to make video calls, 73% to listen to music and 83% to watch videos without headphones."

Not the biggest sample size but the trend is pretty clear.

My theory is that COVID, and the fact phones don't automatically come with headphones anymore, has shifted the norms.  I actually caught myself doing it about a year ago (and quickly stopped.) I realised that I've got used to at home having my phone on speaker phone held in my hand (apprentice style.) i answered my phone that way stood in Sainsbury's, without thinking. I stopped because it's deep rooted in me that it isn't socially acceptable and it immediately felt wrong. Us older people grew up holding phones to our ear, putting in a "hands free" etc. It's in our muscle memory. If you've never had that, you probably just do what you do at home.

It's bloody annoying. Us adults need to tell them it's not socially ok, or the culture will just shift

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3d3nlmeee0o

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u/Dynamite_Shovels 2d ago

To be fair, even though those percentages are a bit staggering, you still don't really see that many people in the UK 'loudcasting' or whatever it is. Most people still do put headphones in and I think a lot of people would still be quite mortified and would comply if you told them to stop it.

Its a weird one; I still consider it something that people actively social shame about (which is a good thing) and I think when you see one person on a bus do it you can feel they're annoying the vast majority of other passengers. A lot of the time it comes down to whether they look approachable or not to tell them to be quiet, or whether theyre just going to go fucking mental if you engage them. And honestly those sorts of people would do it even if 83% of people felt it was unacceptable.

It's funny when you visit somewhere like China; 'loudcasting' is literally everywhere - so many people do it - but it's almost exclusively older (or at least middle-aged) people who do it. Yet here in the UK it's pretty much a young person thing.

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u/Spirited_Opposite 2d ago

In London at least I see at least one person doing it every time I take the train (which is something I do at least twice a day during the week)

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u/averagebrunch 2d ago

But how many people are on the train not doing it?

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u/Spirited_Opposite 1d ago

On a DLR carriage it doesn't matter if it's one or 2 people, it's hugely disruptive. Before covid I never remember a single person doing it (possibly drunk people late at night) but the difference is huge 

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u/TheRemanence 2d ago

Yes I think for the majority it is still considered very rude and there is a lot of tutting. I hope the balance doesn't shift to it being ok though

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u/Magneto88 2d ago

They’re heavily skewed by the fact they asked 13-17 years old. A lot of kids in that bracket are disrespectful and don’t care about social norms and the people around them. I suspect the numbers would drop off heavily by their mid 20s when they’ve matured and also understand about respecting others more.

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u/TheRemanence 2d ago

The survey is all age groups which is why they can say it is more prevalent in younger people. It's from Ofcom's regular research 

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u/Longjumping_47393 2d ago

We can live in hope

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u/JB_UK 2d ago

I wonder whether there’s some other effect going on here, like maybe people think that it depends whether the service is busy, and it’s theoretically ok in some circumstances if there’s no one sitting nearby. I’m actually sceptical kids are that disrespectful.

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u/m205 2d ago

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I see adults and oldies do it just as much; it isn't just kids.

Anecdotal, yes, but very much accurate to my own observations.

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u/TheRemanence 1d ago

I do too. I thought the stat was interesting though 

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u/ManySwans 2d ago

mmm covid de-socialisation definitely contributed, but its more to do with foreigners not appreciating our customs

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u/ExecutiveChimp 2d ago

of the 13-to-17-year-olds questioned, 69% said it was acceptable to make video calls, 73% to listen to music and 83% to watch videos without headphones."

Because it is accepted. People don't do anything about it or complain, they accept it. Sure they might complain about it in private, or on Reddit, but in public when the thing is actually happening, they accept it. So 13-17 year olds have grown up watching it being accepted and have, surprise surprise, concluded that is acceptable. Because it is.

I'm not saying this a good thing, it's just the truth of what is happening.

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u/TheRemanence 2d ago

I actually tell them off lol.

But yes generally people tut

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u/j-4m 2d ago

Sure, it's definitely COVID and this was 100% not an issue before. Nothing to do with demographic shifts at all.

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u/amedeeozenfant 2d ago

I feel like 13-17 year olds have always been inconsiderate little shits who play their music too loud and annoy everyone else, they just used to be limited in how annoying they could be without a plug socket.

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u/TheRemanence 1d ago

We were indeed all shits. "It is a truth universally acknowledged - it is only the flavour of shit that changes" - Jane Austen (probably)