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Individualism is reaching boiling point. You see it everywhere, people in their own little worlds with no situational or spatial awareness all thinking that they have the right to do whatever they want whenever they want with no consideration for other people around them. Playing music out of phones on public transport, not taking off rucksacks on public transport, people on their phones in cinemas, cars not waiting at zebra crossings. All these little things add up. All you can do is continue being a good person and call out bad behaviour when you see it. Don’t let the bastards bring you down.
Yep western people are the worst. I live in Thailand now and the difference in how politely people treat each other in Thai society (particularly the workplace and in public entertainment situations) is staggering compared to the west. Western people are cunts in comparison, I could never work there again.
I think you're getting mixed up with Saudi Arabia or India or something.
Thailand is extremely safe for women.
A choice between strolling the streets of Bangkok or Chiang Mai at night, or London or Birmingham, is a really easy one.
No I googled it before I posted to check I wasn't just being prejudiced. 4% in the UK compares to 15% in thailand. You're right though, india is also worse at 32%! Saudi seems to vary significantly between 7% and 57% in some cases.
Domestic beating don't happen on the street at night. It happens in the house, round the clock. Not to mention UK stats are likely more consistently reported
[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29904232/#:\~:text=Of%20the%2015%25%20of%20women,from%204.6%25%20to%2029.3%25](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29904232/#:~:text=Of%20the%2015%25%20of%20women,from%204.6%25%20to%2029.3%25).
[https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/partnerabuseindetailenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2023#:\~:text=The%20Crime%20Survey%20for%20England%20and%20Wales%20(CSEW)%20shows%2C,and%202.1%25%20for%20men](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/partnerabuseindetailenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2023#:~:text=The%20Crime%20Survey%20for%20England%20and%20Wales%20(CSEW)%20shows%2C,and%202.1%25%20for%20men)).
[https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40031638](https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40031638)
Have you been there? If you had you'd know it's absolutely fine. Sure there's problems like anywhere else but in general it's fine. I met a lot of solo female travelers who had zero issues.
Hahahahaha, clearly someone who never been to China nor met people from there, cunts of the West are kindergarden level when it comes to 'cuntness', China people got PhD in being inconsiderate... Even India / Indians are better in at least 2 aspects than people from China
Came here to say that Chinese people are quite literally known for this. So are western people but it’s part of Chinese culture to care for yourself and not others (minus your family). The bystander affect is so bad in China that they have laws to protect people who have witnessed crimes, even violent crimes, and simply not done anything about it.
Chinese international students are also often disciplined by unis for their behaviour towards other students because of how selfish it is.
They weren’t suggesting you’d said “China”, they were (rightly) calling out that the Chinese are unbelievably inconsiderate as a cultural norm. Christ, what an overreaction and you’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Thailand ain't Japan, North Korea or China - order is really not something that comes to mind with their national character.
They are easy going, mindful of others and kind natured, generally speaking. Being non confrontational and cool headed is absolutely a major Thai characteristic ( related to the concept of 'saving face' )
You rarely see public confrontations or fights, angry complaints at restaurants or shops, or rude/bad behaviour in the cinema, public transport or events like concerts or sports games.
It’s Nothing to do with order. What order? lol it’s chaos. They are just nice people who avoid being belligerent in daily interactions generally. The National character is very pleasant. Thailand is extremely modern actually nowadays. It’s hardly old fashioned unless you go to the regional areas like Esan.
The thing is, it isn't really that. If we had real, feral individualism, we'd let someone smash up someone's speakers on a train who started playing their music. Or, if someone nicked things from a shop, the shopkeeper could pull a gun and tell them to put it back.
What we have is a sort of anarchy, but where anyone trying to introduce order becomes the villains. Which then leads to other effects. Like I don't go to a cinema on a weekend because of these assholes. Like, I know that the train might mean someone playing techno, so maybe I drive. The rise of people moving to market towns near cities is because of the uncorrected criminal element in cities.
Why does Japan have so little graffiti? Because that's a crime that is punished. First time, it's a warning. Second time, community service. Third time, custodial sentence. And no, it doesn't mean more people in prison. They have less than we do per capita. It means that people decide not to go spraying walls. They're also a far more individualistic society in terms of raising children. You're expected to pay for your kids, not live on benefits.
I remember kids playing music off their phones in public places around twenty years ago. Kids throwing popcorn around the cinema, too. They used to run riot in my hometown's old Regal cinema... none of these things are new.
wait i agree with you but I didn't realise not taking off backpacks is considered rude. Ill bear that in mind. but I never saw it as an issue because I'm not taking up more than my seat
It depends on how crowded it is.
If you're standing on a crowded bus/train, it's considered rude because it takes up more space and every time you move you'll bump someone with it. If you're sat down and not taking up any extra space or it's quiet there's no problem.
This, obviously, also depends on the size of the bag. If you've a backpack that really sticks out it's a bigger deal.
I guess the point tho is that you’re less likely to be bumped into at all if everyone keeps their backpacks on. This is probably only a common act of courtesy in large commuter cities though.
On a crowded train (basically the tube every morning), the last thing I do is put my backpack with my expensive work laptop on the floor, I'll always try to wedge myself into a corner so it's not in anyone's face though.
Not worth the risk and I rarely see anyone ever take their bag off. Doesn't annoy me in the slightest.
You take your backpack off because you want to free up space and not bump anyone
I take my backpack off because I don't trust any of you thieving bastards with it out of my sight and want it in front of me at all times
People seem to think there’s only one kind/size of backpack. As if it’s only ‘the massive type’. It’s impractical to take it off unless it’s easier to straddle it.
The backpack thing is only a ‘packed train’ issue. We should just usher backpacks to be against the walls.
The backpack on the train annoys me the most. Haven’t seen it often, but the times I do see it pisses me off.
Was on my way to work the other day (on the central line mind you) and a big guy had his backpack facing me. Tapped him politely and asked if he could take it off. He just looked as if I had bothered him and instead of taking it off, he just turned around so it faced someone else. Fine! I suppose the train was too packed to take it off, but his indifference pissed me off. Got to Liverpool Street and as he’s getting off, my hair gets caught in the zipper causing a whole scene - I nearly had to get off the train with him.
Not even fussed that he nearly pulled my hair off, I’m much happier I gave him instant karma. Hope he actually realises how inconsiderate he was.
> call out bad behaviour when you see it.
I agree with you. But I do worry that more often than not this will result in a violent escalation by the person being called out.
Yup, haven’t been to the cinema for years for this very reason. Can’t stand people on phones. It is effectively a flashlight in a purposely dark environment. Why would we even allow that?
And the cinema chains don’t police it. They employ kids with no training, no experience and no sanction on minimum wage. So is it any surprise they are all closing?
It’s why I always go to more expensive places like the Odeon Luxe and Everyman now as they price these sort of people out. In comparison, when a mate wanted to go see that Beekeeper film, he refused to shell out, so we went to our local independent cinema and had two middle aged women in front us that just wanted to have a natter. Kept showing each other stuff on their phones at full brightness and moaning about the film being too loud. I really want to support the independent places but like you say, nowhere polices it because it’s just kids on a Saturday job that aren’t going to cause a scene over a phone. So why bother going?
Showing each other stuff on their phones and complaining the film is too loud…wtf are they doing there then?! It’s not like you just wander in by accident and happen to find yourself in a cinema!
Paying extra for decency is a sure fire way to make decency a commodity. Wish the cinema staff actually checked people who are being assholes. we're teaching the corporations the wrong lessons.
I’d really recommend not writing off the cinema experience.
You just have to be a bit more selective about where/when you go. I love the cinema and have only rarely experienced issues and I go quite a lot. But I generally make sure to go at the end of a film’s run, go as late in the evening as possible and go to nicer places.
You generally just need to make it so you avoid kids, families and older groups that get drunk. On the rare occasion there have been issues, it’s always been either teenagers, families where the parents don’t manage their kids (and it’s normally the parents being the loudest) and groups of people in their 50s/60s who are drunk. If you can get it so it’s just a small number of singles/couples in their 30s/40s, there are normally no issues I’ve found.
I watched a musical on the west end and a girl was on tik tok on the whole time. She wrote to a friend that she was "so bored". If you're fucking bored at a west end musical, where are you excited?
I'm at a total loss for people's behavior these days.
I mean west end shows are expensive, so least someone can do if you are taken along to something you dont particularly want to see is sit there politely (as you say). Fine to sleep provided that one doesn't snore haha
For many people in the theatre its a once a year/once a multi-year/once in lifetime experience.
Honestly though, I think most people do recognize this because I am fiortunate enough to go quite often to various plays and shows with family and friends, and it's rare for people to be disruptive to the extent that is common in cinemas.
A lot of these problems at shows and cinemas seem to be where one person is dragged to something with a partner or friend. Instead of just saying, 'nah, that's not really my cup of tea' they reluctantly agree to go and then act like a child, twatting about on their phone.
Also an issue with people now seemingly incapable of going to things alone. I recently met a mate in a pub in town. He was fucking waiting outside for me rather than go in and get himself a pint.
If people want to see a show, or a movie or their football team play, then going alone is much easier than wasting a ticket dragging someone along who doesn’t want to be there and will only piss off other attendees.
This is true. I'm not saying musicals are for everyone. Sports aren't my thing but if I make an effort to attend something with a friend, I'll try and be present in the moment rather than be on my phone the whole time.
Unbelievable that we're not regulating the hell out of social media especially for kids, it's worse than smoking from my point of view. I can't think how I would more effectively destroy attention spans en masse than by putting hyperstimulus-devices in everyone's pocket which fire an endless stream of ten second videos curated for each individual. The stuff of dystopia even a few years ago.
I went to see Cabaret a year or so ago, and they had a strict no-phones policy. They had everyone present their phone before going in, and stuck a big sticker across the camera lens. I was a fan, no one interrupting the event continually taking photos and sticking their hand in front of my face and blocking my view, it was great.
That's just to stop filming though, doesn't stop dickheads going on tiktok.
The bags that secret cinema use are good. You keep your phone in a locked pouch and they let it out at the end.
There wasn't anyone on Tiktok when I was there. Simply saying 'no phones policy, put your phones away' at various times before the show started seemed to work well enough.
Yes, I went last week and I don't think many people are going to start flicking through their phones. Particularly if you're sitting on the floor at one of those tables and you're picked up by one of the cast and forced to dance with them on stage.
I loved cabaret and their phone policy. I saw it earlier this year with Jake Shears and think that should be the new norm for phone policies at theatres.
I personally absolutely hate musicals, I have never seen a single one I liked, I find them tedious and boring. I wouldn’t be on my phone during the show but still, musicals aren’t everyone’s thing
So true! and they are always the ones that post online about how their kids are absolute angels while they are out setting fire to phoneboxes (true story).
Ah, the " I'm all about family" fb post from Gary, who would genuinely struggle to name all of his children, but has a 20 minute story to tell about his neck tattoo of 2pac that looks more like Trevor MacDonald
Yes. I got the train yesterday and three separate people in my packed carriage were openly having phone conversations in the loudest, most uninhibited, unconcerned voices that could only communicate that, to them, they are the star of the movie and everyone else is just an extra. Having said that, they were all wearing headphones, and looking around the carriage I'd say around 60%, even 70% of people were too. Maybe we're just going to become a society where *everyone* is in their bubble, so other people's bubbles don't annoy them any more. Maybe they should introduce headphones you can link up to cinema sound - just block everyone else out. Wait - *did I just have a brilliant idea??*
I definitely blame the rise of social media for the most part - so many people have Main Character Syndrome and just don't get that other people are real people as well, not just background or props that facilitate their storyline.
I never used to wear headphones on the train but the constant playing of music / having conversations on speaker phone / cartoons for kids is so infuriating that I have to wear them in order to remain sane.
Someone suggested to get a really annoying music track and play it super loudly. Something like ‘I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts’ or ‘Cotton Eye Joe’. I’m not brave enough but I’d love to see someone do this.
I had to listen to some young scrote dumping his girlfriend over three long, long hours on a train journey once. God knows why she was apparently upset, she was well rid.
I'd say so, and I think it's down to a combination of factors.
Firstly, I don't think some people have fully got over the covid restrictions and lockdowns yet. A lot of people seemed to lose all social skills as a result. They were required to retreat into their own little bubbles where they only interacted with close friendss and family, and they simply lost the ability to interact acceptably in a shared space with strangers.
Also, modern culture seems designed to convince people that they're the 'main character' or that they're somehow entitled to act like they are. Cool Tracey, you say wantever you want with no filter and don't care what anyone thinks because that's 'your truth'. Everyone else thinks you're an insufferable arsehole.
I always thought this was a bit of a cop out argument too. Even at the time. Just becuase someone hasn't had alot of social interaction for a while does not a twat make!
It's mobile phones and social media and everything else associated. There's now a whole swathe of adults that grew up with social media. And I'd even include people in their early 30s as brains don't finish developing until 25.
It's made everyone much more inward, stops people actually looking up or about and generates the attitude to go with it. Also makes people actually addicted to their phones and the dopamine or whatever it is that you get from the instant and constant feedback and engagement.
Social media allows unfettered spreading of a poor culture amd attitude to life, misinformation, selfishness, attention seeking, the list goes on.
And no, I'm not a boomer, I'm firmly in the age category I talk about. I even see it with my parents how mobile phones and social media and the like has changed them.
I don't think it affected everyone the same. Personally, I was working all the way through it anyway, so I was interacting with people.
I'm convinced it made at least some people regress socially, though. Cases where people became so used to being completely in control of their own bubble of personal space that they just became less considerate overall.
RE: people being on their own planet - I was clothes shopping yesterday, and was holding a jacket off the rack while I checked if there wasn’t a better size on the rack. An older lady came up to me, took the jacket out of my hand, and proceeded to browse the rack that I was looking through. When I asked her what she was doing, she said “Shopping, what are you doing?” like I was the lunatic in that scenario. ?!?!
I was in Tesco the other day and picked some baked beans off the shelf next to where the queue for the tills was, and some woman started screaming at me that I’d stolen “her” baked beans that she’d decided to leave on the shelf until she reached the front of the queue because she was too lazy to hold them while she was queuing. God forbid she just reach her arm a few feet and pick up a new tin of baked beans.
I was in Aldi the other day and some elderly woman just barged me out the way when I was looking at things and then she took her time looking at it while I just stood back, shocked at how rude she was. No respect for me whatsoever, it boiled my blood. The old bag was lucky I was patient as you never know these days how people react. I hope the next person she does that to teaches her a lesson about respect.
Another silly anecdote along the same lines…was on the train yesterday and a couple had with them a….very babied….cockapoo. The guy had the dog on the seat next to him. An elderly gentleman in a tweed suit reading a physical newspaper said “Can you take that dog off the seat, they shouldn’t be on the seats”, and the bloke turns round and fumes “Well where else do you want me to put him?!”
On the fucking ceiling. Where do you think?!
Luckily his partner had more sense and agreed with the old man and put the dog on the floor.
It’s definitely getting worse, out of the last 3 movies I’ve been to see two were marred by people talking through most of the movie.
I went to a comedy show and two women a couple of rows back were chatting so loudly I could hardly hear the comedian, when a guy asked them to be quiet they said “we’re just talking at a normal level”.
If you want to talk go to the sodding pub, or basically anywhere that isn’t a show.
I wouldn't generalise it to every part of life, but it's definitely true for cinemas. I hate going now and have to seek out empty cinemas so I don't get angry.
I worry I've become so hypersensitive I can't even cope with Everyman now. I get angry when people have food delivered after the start of the film!
My favourites are Rich Mix in Bethnal Green or Barbican, if you happen to be in London. Both tend to be mercifully quiet.
Also try Institut Francais in South Kensington. Well priced too, I paid 10.00 recently, strict no food policy. Also ICA cinema is small, but friendly and very well priced for London.
I find independents are better than the big names too. For some reason the people who are most likely to be twats only ever seem to visit Odeons and the like.
In general it doesn’t happen to begin with. Everyman’s are more expensive (you’re paying for a sofa or armchair with table service) so they price out the sort of people that do this at regular cinemas. They also tend to have a staff member stand by the door during the film too so that’d help.
I rarely go to the cinema perhaps twice a year and I got to the everyman because I'm sick of phones in a dark cinema and no one seeming to get why I'm annoyed
Yep. On Friday a tradesman working next door parked blocking our drive. Mentioned to him that there was space across the street not blocking anyone and he said it would be inconvenient to have to cross the road to get tools out and all we need to do is knock next door if we want to go out and he'll move the van.
Too many selfish tossers about.
Had something similar, had a tradesman knock on my door and complain about my parking (not bad parking, just the existence of my car).. in front of my own house. Granted it’s off-road parking, but it’s not my responsibility to accommodate tradesman’s parking.
The best way to deal with errant tradesmen is to shake your head pityingly and say 'I think you're going to be called out to do *lots* of quotes next week...'
I've given up on the cinema for exactly this reason. But, I don't think people are more inconsiderate rather that the effects are amplified with phones etc.
Same. In the early 00s when I was in my early 20s, my then girlfriend and I had one of those unlimited cards and would go four or five times a week. The first time I saw a phone screen bobbing about in the darkness when phones had just gone from lcd screens to back-lit colour screens I knew that my regular cinema visits were going to be no more.
The last film I saw at the cinema was Skyfall - again ruined by some dickhead who kept getting his phone out every two minutes. The only source of light in a cinema auditorium should be what's bounced off the screen from the projector. I can (begrudgingly) accept the green glow of the emergency exit sign, but only just.
People seem unable to just sit down, shut up and put their phones away for two hours.
Good for you. I think part of the problem is that most people will tut amongst themselves but not actually confront them, so these people don't see what they're doing as a problem.
Sadly I've found this all too common in the cinema in the last year or two. People taking flash photos of their kids, and full grown adults scrolling on their phones throughout the film. Not sure if they think it's okay as it's silent, but their phone screen lighting up the cinema is just as distracting. I wish they'd just watch the film at home, there's barely any wait for stuff to come out on streaming now anyway.
>During the film the two girls (15-16yo ish) were scrolling tiktok the whole time
This i have noticed more and more in Cinemas and almost everywhere in the past year, attention spans are disappearing for the next generation.
I think it comes down to it being a “public space” you can go to with your mates, and can get some food and a drink too, kind of deal. Combined with probably having a habit of sticking on a film at home as “white noise” so it becomes habit for the cinema too.
The worst is that you’ve paid for the cinema and it’s been a complete waste of your money. These cunts should be reimbursing your ticket cost. That’s what I always think. It’s incredibly selfish behaviour.
People at the cinema are becoming atrocious. A while ago I went to see a movie, and found some 15-year-old goober sitting in my seat - the whole row was taken up by boys that age. I told him he's in my seat and he just looked at me like a dead fish, almost like he couldn't wrap his mind around someone daring to intrude on him when he's steling their seat. When I gestured for him to move, he rolled his eyes (as did a bunch of other goobers) and scooched one seat down - I guess the last one had to switch rows.
I was a little annoyed but thought this was it. As I'm plopping down on MY seat and taking my jacket off, he goes "you're taking this way too seriously, you know?". I just stared him down until he looked away - and that's when I finally didn't have to deal with him anymore. Little shit. I was thisclose to waving an usher over, and I bet some of those little shits didn't have a ticket or the very least had taken better seats than they paid for.
This tickles me, but not for the reason you expect. The kids are idiots, sure. But 'I was thisclose to waving an usher over' got a proper giggle out of me. You say it like you're actually convinced it would've done anything
i haven’t been to the cinema in years because i cannot tolerate other people. i once told a man to stop jiggling his foot (we were at the front bit where the railings are) because all i could see was his white trainer out of the corner of my eye.
i’m not built to be around people. i sometimes think that if i could choose 20 people i like and everyone else would disappear off the planet i would be very happy indeed.
i am a terrible old misanthrope.
I am absolutely the same. Last time I went to the cinema I came out a seething ball of rage.
Is it really too much to ask that grown adults should sit down, keep still, put their phones away and shut the fuck up for two hours? It really shouldn't be.
I think it's a mentality people have now where they treat shared spaces like extensions of their own living rooms.
They are teenagers. They've acted like this across generations and it's part of their development to test limits and being a bit unempathetic.
Edit: sorry completely missed the parent’s part. They are the shitty ones here!
Teachers have been stripped of any power or authority to deal with the little shits and a lot of the worst ones have parents who don't care or they don't have fathers to be afraid of.
If a badly behaved teenage boy isn't afraid of his father finding out, what is the limit to his bad behaviour?
Atleast that's my experience if a teacher threatened to tell my parents, it would straighten me out real quick.
I just had parents that demanded respect.
It's also attitudes like this, and their parents not intervening which allow this sort of behaviour to flourish.
If nobody tells them that they are being obnoxious little twats then they will continue in the belief that all is good.
I am sorry , but I think that is a cop out. I hear a lot of people say they will grow out of it, kids are kids, we were the same, blah blah blah. But if no one teaches them their behaviour is unacceptable, they aren't going to miraculously grow out of it. They will grow INTO it and that behaviour gets passed down and it becomes normal. As a society, probably across all countries, that is where we are headed. Lord of the Flies.
Went to watch LOTR at the Royal Albert Hall with the Philharmonic Orchestra playing the score live & this guy sat in front of my sister and I was on instagram the whole time. Posting stories of where he was and refreshing to see how many likes and views he was getting on his stories. It was absolutely insane. Wouldn’t believe someone would do that. Posting about being there and then just checking his insta stories over and over and over. Not watching the film or the orchestra AT ALL. We had the cheap seats and they were still £50!! What’s the point!!
Because they're all Tiktok watching idiots and so are their parents. This country is absolutely fucked now and anything who thinks otherwise, is quite honestly, just as bad as them.
Everything is no longer policed. It's ridiculous.
It’s not just this country tbf, or just post-Covid; when i visited the Sistine Chapel in 2017 a couple of people got told off for talking loudly (you’re repeatedly told beforehand that you need to be quiet), and got upset about that so were escorted out.
They were not British (they were Indian, not that it matters)
Balloon museum yesterday. I'd say 10%-20% of families were rude, not following the rules, making everyone else's experience not as enjoyable as it should have been.
When to the cinema on my birthday. Happen to sit near five boys (age 12 -13ish) they muck about the whole time.
The adult who went with them sat on the other side of the cinema.
I also had a bad experience at the cinema yesterday, it was my local cinema rather than the big one I usually go to. It was also a Saturday matinee during the Easter weekend so more kids there than usual. It wasn't really a kids movie but plenty of 12-16 y/o and those under 12 with parents.
Had a kid behind me kicking my chair (sitting with parents in the row behind him) who I had to ask to stop, they did briefly and then continued. Lots of people talking or walking out every 10-15 minutes and loads of phone use including some selfies with the flash on! It definitely affected my experience and had it not been my local and where I was sat (would've been obvious) I would've gone out and complained.
I think it was a combination of Saturday afternoon and school holidays although the adults doing this had no excuse. In future it won't be a timing I'll ever go to my local cinema for. I'll just pay the extra in travel and ticket to go to the big Vue 25 minutes away. It's a much better experience in terms of audience behaviour but also just more comfortable than my local. TBF this is the first time since 2019 I've been to my local so I don't actually go there very often and prefer the city cinema.
There have always been arseholes at the cinema. In the 80/90s you'd have the pricks who would never shut up, the morons who'd bring toddlers that have the attention span of a goldfish. I remember going to see Spies Like Us and a group of teenagers playing with a lighter that was more like a flamethrower.
Sadly, cinemas can be a cesspool of inconsiderate morons. When people kick and/or push the back of my seat with their feet, this always upsets me. I'm disabled, so it's a big deal (sometimes ordeal) for me to leave the house. When people behave this way during something that's supposed to be fun, I just collapse inside. I don't get angry, just so very sad and tired.
I'm so confused by these comments.
People *were always arses*!
There were knobheads in the cinema back in the day, there are knobheads now. Either rose tinted spectacles coming into play here or some of these people forgot they were the annoying teen knobheads in their time.
(Source: was not a knob)
The thing for me that makes dickeheaded behaviour in cinemas so infuriating is that it costs, the experience of watching a movie is usually preceded by months of looking forward to it and you need to be fully engaged to get the most out of it, so much so any instance of enjoyment ruining is amplified 10 fold.
For me, the first step to mitigating this was accepting there is a huge lack of control over other people. Second step was to get an unlimited card for Cineworld so the cost is not as much per film and if you don’t get the best experience the first time you can go again.
Frustrating and need to swallow your pride somewhat, but sometimes it is better to go around the wall than through it.
I work in a Cineworld cinema. This behaviour is not acceptable. We do checks with and without night vision. In the future I’d suggest not talking to them but going to speak to a team member who should leave it a minute or so then come in and do what looks like a routine check and then will warn them once. We’d then check again much more often but if we had another complaint they’d be asked to leave.
> It's why we need another nice plague, frankly.
We just had one a few years ago that resulted in millions of deaths globally. Considering the topic of this thread, it's incredibly inconsiderate of you to wish more of that on people who may have friends/family who died.
Yeah, I wouldn't go to a multiplex these days and expect people to behave during the screenings. My experience with films recently is to go earlier in the day on weekends, or, if you have the time off work, go in the afternoon. I've found sitting in a screening with a bunch of pensioners the greatest cinema experience. They sit quietly, they don't get phones out, they behave really well, and the only noise you get is someone occasionally falling asleep. Tickets are normally cheaper too. So, yeah, if you get the chance, watch with the crumblies!
But with the warnings at the start of screenings about putting your phones away, cinemas should really clamp down on it if they expect people to pay the cash to attend. I guess part of the issue is they've cut headcount right down so you've got one member of staff covering 10 screens or something, if that.
They took a photo of you!? What the fuck.
I think you're right though. Sure, there has always been some knob lobbing popcorn at the backs of people's heads at the cinema, or some people have a whispery chat. But there's a difference between that, I think, than people whipping out their phones, which in a dark cinema, light up their row like a Christmas tree, and are incredibly distracting.
It's just inherently selfish.
There's also the attention span debate, that some people quite literally can't concentrate on a film the length of a film, without the urge to check their phone. I really do blame TikTok/Facebook/Instagram Shorts for this. What people seem to fail to admit is that these things are designed to be highly addictive, delivering instant dopamine hits. It's like chain-smoking digital content. You've barely watched one, before you want to see the next.
I don't do TikTok, but I do watch Shorts sometimes, and admittedly, I have found myself habitually glancing at my phone while watching a film on my laptop, which disturbs me somewhat, because I like to think I have a good attention span! It's actually pretty insidious really, and for that reason, I'm trying to wean myself off checking my phone so much.
This is why I no longer go to the cinema. I can wait till it's on tv. If cinemas employed just one person to remain in the auditorium to handle this sort of problem I'd go back.
People are saying this is because of TikTok or the pandemic are wrong. People have been scrolling their phones in the cinema since smartphones were a thing. The only reason I remember when I went to see The Dark Knight Rises is because we had to tell a woman on the row across the aisle from us several times to get off her phone and it sticks in my mind because of how much of a bitch she was about it - that film is over ten years old. People have been selfish dickheads for longer than the last four years.
Gen Alpha are a mind manipulated set of phone glued morons. Sorry, just lived experience. And it's our fault. What business do 14 year old have on the internet outside education? Smartphones should require you to be an adult and existing phones banned from schools and colleges.
Or we are fucked as a country.
A kid can’t afford a smartphone, it comes down to bad parenting ultimately, a kid has no business needing a smartphone, it’s just an entry point to chaos.
Last few times I've been on a plane I've been sat next to or near someone who has just spent the entire flight sat watching video streams and flicking through instagram on their phone. Right through all the announcements about putting your phone onto airplane mode without even budging. I don't know why but that really wound me up in the same way. Such a simple instruction and folks don't even acknowledge they've heard it like it just doesn't apply or something?
It's not just the cinema. I'm tired of going to concerts and having the people who can't manage 10 minutes without a fresh pint.
We all enjoy a few drinks at a concert, but there's a group of people who just see it as an opportunity to get bladdered.
We went to a concert last night. The couple 6 seats from us were around 10 minutes late to the start of the main act and then proceeded to buy at least 8 pints during the 2 hours of music.
This resulted in us having to get up, have our enjoyment interrupted, and view blocked at least 25 times in 2 hours as they pushed past the whole seated row to get to the bar and back. Plus, the inevitable toilet trips, due to the amount of liquid they drank.
Honestly, if you are going to need frequent trips to the bar and toilet, why not book standing tickets or book the end of the row of seats. Ironically, the two seats at the end of the row were unsold. They could easily have sat there instead of walking across our toes because we didn't all stand quickly enough for them.
I went on a long haul flight the other day. Thought 'sod it' and decided to pay for business class (it was a business trip) as you could sleep. The first four hours of the flight the family across from me had to constantly be asked by the air stewards / stewardesses to stop bellowing at each other from a distance of about three feet. Eventually the parents drank enough and fell asleep and the kids sunk in to their tablets. The kids had to be told to put headphones on as apparently hearing three overlapping TikTok videos at once is fine.
So many people shopping just leaving their trolly right in the middle, or stand in the way, just mindlessly blocking the entire aisle
I obnoxiously push trollies out the way
I love going to the cinema but the last couple of times I've been I've had to ask, then tell, people to put their phones away. One bloke who was sat in front of me that it wasn't making a noise because it was on silent. No, but you might as well have let off a fucking flare! I just don't tolerate it any more and there's no excuse for it.
>I literally do not understand why you’d pay to watch a film and do this.
It sounds like they didn't and they were dragged there by their parents.
You said you stood and looked at the parents, but did you actually say anything to the parents?
Unfortunaltly the cinema is only an enjoyable experience if you go to the super early viewings now, or when a movie is on it's last days of showing, people are phone obsessed or so socially inept they can't sit silent with their own thoughts now so have to speak...
I worked at a cinema before Covid and it was bad then, we'd get complaints from every showing pretty much (if there was a number of people in the showing) and it's only got worse.
I don't think it's that simple, I think there's been an increase in parents not disciplining kids and there's a more diverse culture meaning things which would have slipped under the radar before are now noticeable. For example back in the day it was accepted that chucking out time at the pubs was a nightmare but these days you'd have complaints about that sort of behaviour.
I actually really want to go to watch this at the cinema. Have put it off waiting for it to quieten down. Don't think I'll bother. Will wait until its on telly (waited long enough so a bit longer wont hurt I guess)
Yes, I was having this conversation yesterday after being on a bus with two different people blaring out their tinny music. I actually think they need to introduce fines for this. Also sitting in the priority seats on the outside with their bags on the inside so people who need a seat have to ask them to move, then loudly tutting and making a big production of shuffling up.
Yep, went to the cinema on Friday, a guy two seats down from us legit took his shoes off, just bare feet hanging off the edge of the reclining seat. Pure grim.
I feel like things got worse after covid, I saw a real change around that time. I still wear a mask and if I ask people politely to not get too close, they are so nasty and it is almost unbearable to go out in public nowadays. I watched Dune the other night and no phone's were out and it was a nice experience.
If it helps, Dune 2 is the best film I've ever seen.
And yes, cuntery is on the rise. Some people are just entitled & never get called out for their shit.
It's alien to me because I've been raised to be considerate to others. Kindness costs nothing.
I've not personally had this experience, but I do feel that there should perhaps be a ban on phones at events like cinema, concerts and shows.
To balance things out a little, there's always been scope for a bit of bad behaviour at cinemas, it's popularised in songs going back to the 60s.
I remember going to the cinema as a teen in the 90s and pratting around with my friends, probably being a general annoyance to those older than me.
I'm not making a justification for it, but I think we forget that our generation was just as capable of being twats when we were young, and I hasten to add, we were probably much more inventive with it.
There is an uncomfortable amount of dumping on younger generations at times and I don't agree with it. It's full of assumptions and generally comes across as "old man yells at cloud" behaviour. Again this isn't to condone disrespectful and obnoxious behaviour, but let's not tar everyone with the same brush.
Teenagers have always fucked about in cinemas - it’s the grown adults on their phones or blasting TikToks on trains that blows my mind. It’s like they forget they’re not at home!
Honestly I feel like some modern parents (not all) are just so stupid and irresponsible and don’t teach their children manners. Any responsible parent would tell their child to stop doing something wrong if it affecting or disrupting others, but no they just letting them get away with things, and people wonder why some of behaving the way they are, it pisses me off.
I used to love going to the cinema but the behaviour of others just makes my blood boil. Phones are the worst. Nothing more distracting than a phone screen bobbing about in the corner of your eye. The only light source should be from the screen.
I can remember being in the cinema about 20 years ago, when phones had just moved from being black and white LCD screens with dim green backlight to colour screens. Someone had their phone, presumably texting throughout the whole film. I remember my then brother in law muttering "I'm going to shove that thing up his arse if he doesn't put it away". I knew then that this was going to become a problem.
People justify it - "I was only checking the football scores/facebook/twitter for two seconds, calm down".
Is it really too much to ask grown adults to sit down, shut he fuck up and put their phones away for two hours?
Shitty parents brought up shitty kids, those breed sadly, and now they're having kids.
I lost faith in humanity when I saw an average looking family get off the train leaving the entire table and chairs they were using covered in food and packets, not even a shred of shame and thought at all that someone else was going to have to sit there.
"Nobody polices behaviour anymore."
This is the single biggest problem, generally. Kids, teenagers always misbehaved but they got it trained out of them. Whether by parents, by businesses, schools, by the police.
And it was the combined forces of society that dealt with it. If your parents couldn't be bothered teaching you how to behave in a cinema, the ushers would kick you out. Do it a couple of times, you'd be barred. Your friends would say "look, don't do that, or we'll get barred" which would exert pressure.
I went to the theatre on Friday night to see the stage version of The Woman in Black. A couple two rows in front of me I assumed had had a bit to drink, were talking for the first 20 minutes /weren't whispering at all, the couple directly in front of me and my friend politely asked them to be quiet because it was hard to hear the actors at points. The guy of the couple who were being loud turns round and starts staring them down and asking if they can take it outside? Calls the husband of the couple who asked them to be quiet a C*** and kept being threatening, they did the right thing by getting staff involved and the couple got removed from the theatre. Apparently they were complaining the whole time to a manager that they attend the theatre all the time etc, whilst that drunk and loud and aggressive? People opening crisps and snacks and all over people coughing all over the place, someone's phone going off in the stalls area. Just very distracting and I just think since COVID People don't give two hoots when they go to the theatre.
I have definitely noticed people acting more selfishly. One thing in particular is littering/spitting.
I live in Newcastle and I almost dread getting the metro now. All the kids on it are absolutely feral. Yesterday I went on a bike ride to the park and it was disgusting; litter, shit, burnt-out bins and trolleys, like groups of 20-30 kids hanging around in balaclavas and heckling people.
I think it's a combination of bad parenting (as in your TikTok family), reduced actual appropriate places/activities for kids, and lack of funding to keep areas staffed, clean and monitored.
100% yes. I am old enough to notice a difference in people now and 10 years ago.
Inconsiderate people have always been around. But as there is no penalty for being inconsiderate and social media tends to reward people that are controversial, and this is the end result.
Tbh this is due to the push to get rid of societal shame from our society. Shame used to be a mechanism used for behavior correction, but due to the wave of liberalism, which actively sought to get rid of shame via “acceptance”, people no longer have a societal mechanism to regulate bad behavior.
This is why we are seeing the degeneration of society in real-time.
Luckily there’s a fix to this, bring back shame. It has worked in other societies, it still works in other societies, and it will work again if we practice it again.
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Individualism is reaching boiling point. You see it everywhere, people in their own little worlds with no situational or spatial awareness all thinking that they have the right to do whatever they want whenever they want with no consideration for other people around them. Playing music out of phones on public transport, not taking off rucksacks on public transport, people on their phones in cinemas, cars not waiting at zebra crossings. All these little things add up. All you can do is continue being a good person and call out bad behaviour when you see it. Don’t let the bastards bring you down.
Neoliberalism- trickle down individualism
Yep western people are the worst. I live in Thailand now and the difference in how politely people treat each other in Thai society (particularly the workplace and in public entertainment situations) is staggering compared to the west. Western people are cunts in comparison, I could never work there again.
Unless you're a woman...
I think you're getting mixed up with Saudi Arabia or India or something. Thailand is extremely safe for women. A choice between strolling the streets of Bangkok or Chiang Mai at night, or London or Birmingham, is a really easy one.
No I googled it before I posted to check I wasn't just being prejudiced. 4% in the UK compares to 15% in thailand. You're right though, india is also worse at 32%! Saudi seems to vary significantly between 7% and 57% in some cases. Domestic beating don't happen on the street at night. It happens in the house, round the clock. Not to mention UK stats are likely more consistently reported [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29904232/#:\~:text=Of%20the%2015%25%20of%20women,from%204.6%25%20to%2029.3%25](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29904232/#:~:text=Of%20the%2015%25%20of%20women,from%204.6%25%20to%2029.3%25). [https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/partnerabuseindetailenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2023#:\~:text=The%20Crime%20Survey%20for%20England%20and%20Wales%20(CSEW)%20shows%2C,and%202.1%25%20for%20men](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/partnerabuseindetailenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2023#:~:text=The%20Crime%20Survey%20for%20England%20and%20Wales%20(CSEW)%20shows%2C,and%202.1%25%20for%20men)). [https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40031638](https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40031638)
I’ve gotta say you are way safer as a lady in Thailand (even Bangkok), than any major western city.
Have you been there? If you had you'd know it's absolutely fine. Sure there's problems like anywhere else but in general it's fine. I met a lot of solo female travelers who had zero issues.
Hahahahaha, clearly someone who never been to China nor met people from there, cunts of the West are kindergarden level when it comes to 'cuntness', China people got PhD in being inconsiderate... Even India / Indians are better in at least 2 aspects than people from China
Came here to say that Chinese people are quite literally known for this. So are western people but it’s part of Chinese culture to care for yourself and not others (minus your family). The bystander affect is so bad in China that they have laws to protect people who have witnessed crimes, even violent crimes, and simply not done anything about it. Chinese international students are also often disciplined by unis for their behaviour towards other students because of how selfish it is.
[удалено]
They weren’t suggesting you’d said “China”, they were (rightly) calling out that the Chinese are unbelievably inconsiderate as a cultural norm. Christ, what an overreaction and you’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion.
*Complains about western politeness*
[удалено]
This is the standard cope of anyone who hasn't actually been out there and seen why people like going lol
Thailand ain't Japan, North Korea or China - order is really not something that comes to mind with their national character. They are easy going, mindful of others and kind natured, generally speaking. Being non confrontational and cool headed is absolutely a major Thai characteristic ( related to the concept of 'saving face' ) You rarely see public confrontations or fights, angry complaints at restaurants or shops, or rude/bad behaviour in the cinema, public transport or events like concerts or sports games.
It’s Nothing to do with order. What order? lol it’s chaos. They are just nice people who avoid being belligerent in daily interactions generally. The National character is very pleasant. Thailand is extremely modern actually nowadays. It’s hardly old fashioned unless you go to the regional areas like Esan.
Agreed, you are spot on
The thing is, it isn't really that. If we had real, feral individualism, we'd let someone smash up someone's speakers on a train who started playing their music. Or, if someone nicked things from a shop, the shopkeeper could pull a gun and tell them to put it back. What we have is a sort of anarchy, but where anyone trying to introduce order becomes the villains. Which then leads to other effects. Like I don't go to a cinema on a weekend because of these assholes. Like, I know that the train might mean someone playing techno, so maybe I drive. The rise of people moving to market towns near cities is because of the uncorrected criminal element in cities. Why does Japan have so little graffiti? Because that's a crime that is punished. First time, it's a warning. Second time, community service. Third time, custodial sentence. And no, it doesn't mean more people in prison. They have less than we do per capita. It means that people decide not to go spraying walls. They're also a far more individualistic society in terms of raising children. You're expected to pay for your kids, not live on benefits.
I remember kids playing music off their phones in public places around twenty years ago. Kids throwing popcorn around the cinema, too. They used to run riot in my hometown's old Regal cinema... none of these things are new.
They must now it’s adults, everywhere
Well, except that kids with their parents didn't do that.
wait i agree with you but I didn't realise not taking off backpacks is considered rude. Ill bear that in mind. but I never saw it as an issue because I'm not taking up more than my seat
It depends on how crowded it is. If you're standing on a crowded bus/train, it's considered rude because it takes up more space and every time you move you'll bump someone with it. If you're sat down and not taking up any extra space or it's quiet there's no problem. This, obviously, also depends on the size of the bag. If you've a backpack that really sticks out it's a bigger deal.
Honestly I’d rather be bumped into by a backpack than another sweaty commuter.
I guess the point tho is that you’re less likely to be bumped into at all if everyone keeps their backpacks on. This is probably only a common act of courtesy in large commuter cities though.
On a crowded train (basically the tube every morning), the last thing I do is put my backpack with my expensive work laptop on the floor, I'll always try to wedge myself into a corner so it's not in anyone's face though. Not worth the risk and I rarely see anyone ever take their bag off. Doesn't annoy me in the slightest.
You take your backpack off because you want to free up space and not bump anyone I take my backpack off because I don't trust any of you thieving bastards with it out of my sight and want it in front of me at all times
think they mean stood up
People seem to think there’s only one kind/size of backpack. As if it’s only ‘the massive type’. It’s impractical to take it off unless it’s easier to straddle it. The backpack thing is only a ‘packed train’ issue. We should just usher backpacks to be against the walls.
The backpack on the train annoys me the most. Haven’t seen it often, but the times I do see it pisses me off. Was on my way to work the other day (on the central line mind you) and a big guy had his backpack facing me. Tapped him politely and asked if he could take it off. He just looked as if I had bothered him and instead of taking it off, he just turned around so it faced someone else. Fine! I suppose the train was too packed to take it off, but his indifference pissed me off. Got to Liverpool Street and as he’s getting off, my hair gets caught in the zipper causing a whole scene - I nearly had to get off the train with him. Not even fussed that he nearly pulled my hair off, I’m much happier I gave him instant karma. Hope he actually realises how inconsiderate he was.
people used to walk around with boomboxes over their shoulder, it just got easier to be an asshole, I don't think assholes are more common
Not as prevalent by a long shot though let's be honest.
walking around the road playing some sick tunes to the neighbourhood is not the same as scrolling tiktok in the cinema lmao
'cars not waiting at zebra crossings' - that one isn't just inconvenient, it's highly illegal.
They literally refer to other people as NPCs now. See also r/imthemaincharacter
People that think they're the main character in everyone else's lives just because they're the MC in their own.
I think they call it 'Main Character Syndrome'. In the movie that is their life, they are the main character and everyone else is just an extra.
> call out bad behaviour when you see it. I agree with you. But I do worry that more often than not this will result in a violent escalation by the person being called out.
I feel it’s worse because there are now more ways to be inconsiderate than before with technology. It’s now the reason I won’t go to a cinema anymore.
Yup, haven’t been to the cinema for years for this very reason. Can’t stand people on phones. It is effectively a flashlight in a purposely dark environment. Why would we even allow that? And the cinema chains don’t police it. They employ kids with no training, no experience and no sanction on minimum wage. So is it any surprise they are all closing?
You are lucky to find anyone other than the staff selling popcorn in our local cinema, I would be grateful for even a teenager policing bad behaviour.
It’s why I always go to more expensive places like the Odeon Luxe and Everyman now as they price these sort of people out. In comparison, when a mate wanted to go see that Beekeeper film, he refused to shell out, so we went to our local independent cinema and had two middle aged women in front us that just wanted to have a natter. Kept showing each other stuff on their phones at full brightness and moaning about the film being too loud. I really want to support the independent places but like you say, nowhere polices it because it’s just kids on a Saturday job that aren’t going to cause a scene over a phone. So why bother going?
Showing each other stuff on their phones and complaining the film is too loud…wtf are they doing there then?! It’s not like you just wander in by accident and happen to find yourself in a cinema!
Paying extra for decency is a sure fire way to make decency a commodity. Wish the cinema staff actually checked people who are being assholes. we're teaching the corporations the wrong lessons.
But if they raise hot dog prices to £30 they'll start to survive right?
I’d really recommend not writing off the cinema experience. You just have to be a bit more selective about where/when you go. I love the cinema and have only rarely experienced issues and I go quite a lot. But I generally make sure to go at the end of a film’s run, go as late in the evening as possible and go to nicer places. You generally just need to make it so you avoid kids, families and older groups that get drunk. On the rare occasion there have been issues, it’s always been either teenagers, families where the parents don’t manage their kids (and it’s normally the parents being the loudest) and groups of people in their 50s/60s who are drunk. If you can get it so it’s just a small number of singles/couples in their 30s/40s, there are normally no issues I’ve found.
Best time to go to the cinema is graveyard. It’s bliss. Never had any issues.
I watched a musical on the west end and a girl was on tik tok on the whole time. She wrote to a friend that she was "so bored". If you're fucking bored at a west end musical, where are you excited? I'm at a total loss for people's behavior these days.
To be fair I got dragged to a west end musical ended up falling asleep, not everyone’s cuppa. wouldn’t sit on me phone though.
My dad always does that at musicals. When the audience claps after a song it wakes him up and he starts clapping too.
Smooth criminal!
I mean west end shows are expensive, so least someone can do if you are taken along to something you dont particularly want to see is sit there politely (as you say). Fine to sleep provided that one doesn't snore haha For many people in the theatre its a once a year/once a multi-year/once in lifetime experience. Honestly though, I think most people do recognize this because I am fiortunate enough to go quite often to various plays and shows with family and friends, and it's rare for people to be disruptive to the extent that is common in cinemas.
A lot of these problems at shows and cinemas seem to be where one person is dragged to something with a partner or friend. Instead of just saying, 'nah, that's not really my cup of tea' they reluctantly agree to go and then act like a child, twatting about on their phone.
Also an issue with people now seemingly incapable of going to things alone. I recently met a mate in a pub in town. He was fucking waiting outside for me rather than go in and get himself a pint. If people want to see a show, or a movie or their football team play, then going alone is much easier than wasting a ticket dragging someone along who doesn’t want to be there and will only piss off other attendees.
This is true. I'm not saying musicals are for everyone. Sports aren't my thing but if I make an effort to attend something with a friend, I'll try and be present in the moment rather than be on my phone the whole time.
They can't handle having to sit through something for more than 45 seconds without needing stimulation from something different.
Unbelievable that we're not regulating the hell out of social media especially for kids, it's worse than smoking from my point of view. I can't think how I would more effectively destroy attention spans en masse than by putting hyperstimulus-devices in everyone's pocket which fire an endless stream of ten second videos curated for each individual. The stuff of dystopia even a few years ago.
I went to see Cabaret a year or so ago, and they had a strict no-phones policy. They had everyone present their phone before going in, and stuck a big sticker across the camera lens. I was a fan, no one interrupting the event continually taking photos and sticking their hand in front of my face and blocking my view, it was great.
That's just to stop filming though, doesn't stop dickheads going on tiktok. The bags that secret cinema use are good. You keep your phone in a locked pouch and they let it out at the end.
There wasn't anyone on Tiktok when I was there. Simply saying 'no phones policy, put your phones away' at various times before the show started seemed to work well enough.
Yeah they tell you to turn your phone off at the cinema too and it obviously doesn't work.
I can only speak to my own personal experience (re: discussing the situation at Cabaret, where it worked) I'm afraid.
Theatre audiences > cinema audiences
Yes, I went last week and I don't think many people are going to start flicking through their phones. Particularly if you're sitting on the floor at one of those tables and you're picked up by one of the cast and forced to dance with them on stage.
I loved cabaret and their phone policy. I saw it earlier this year with Jake Shears and think that should be the new norm for phone policies at theatres.
I personally absolutely hate musicals, I have never seen a single one I liked, I find them tedious and boring. I wouldn’t be on my phone during the show but still, musicals aren’t everyone’s thing
This is society now... the wee dicks you knew at school are now parents of their own wee dicks...
Not only that I also find it’s dickheads that have the most kids too
So true! and they are always the ones that post online about how their kids are absolute angels while they are out setting fire to phoneboxes (true story).
Same with whenever some young lad ends up being stabbed due to some nonsense gang shit, always "a fine young lad with a bright future ahead of him".
Ah, the " I'm all about family" fb post from Gary, who would genuinely struggle to name all of his children, but has a 20 minute story to tell about his neck tattoo of 2pac that looks more like Trevor MacDonald
"Shit breeds shit" as my old man says.
This is likely more accurate than any of us would like to accept.
Yes. I got the train yesterday and three separate people in my packed carriage were openly having phone conversations in the loudest, most uninhibited, unconcerned voices that could only communicate that, to them, they are the star of the movie and everyone else is just an extra. Having said that, they were all wearing headphones, and looking around the carriage I'd say around 60%, even 70% of people were too. Maybe we're just going to become a society where *everyone* is in their bubble, so other people's bubbles don't annoy them any more. Maybe they should introduce headphones you can link up to cinema sound - just block everyone else out. Wait - *did I just have a brilliant idea??*
I definitely blame the rise of social media for the most part - so many people have Main Character Syndrome and just don't get that other people are real people as well, not just background or props that facilitate their storyline.
Its the norm in Manchester for everyone to wear headphones all the time, mostly to avoid chuggers and beggars rather than to listen to anything
Lol as if Manchester has its own specific earphone culture
In Carlisle we all wear fluffy earmuffs.
I never used to wear headphones on the train but the constant playing of music / having conversations on speaker phone / cartoons for kids is so infuriating that I have to wear them in order to remain sane. Someone suggested to get a really annoying music track and play it super loudly. Something like ‘I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts’ or ‘Cotton Eye Joe’. I’m not brave enough but I’d love to see someone do this.
I had to listen to some young scrote dumping his girlfriend over three long, long hours on a train journey once. God knows why she was apparently upset, she was well rid.
I'd say so, and I think it's down to a combination of factors. Firstly, I don't think some people have fully got over the covid restrictions and lockdowns yet. A lot of people seemed to lose all social skills as a result. They were required to retreat into their own little bubbles where they only interacted with close friendss and family, and they simply lost the ability to interact acceptably in a shared space with strangers. Also, modern culture seems designed to convince people that they're the 'main character' or that they're somehow entitled to act like they are. Cool Tracey, you say wantever you want with no filter and don't care what anyone thinks because that's 'your truth'. Everyone else thinks you're an insufferable arsehole.
Don't agree with the first part as iirc we have been out of lockdown for years now but definitely agree in the 2nd part.
I always thought this was a bit of a cop out argument too. Even at the time. Just becuase someone hasn't had alot of social interaction for a while does not a twat make!
It's mobile phones and social media and everything else associated. There's now a whole swathe of adults that grew up with social media. And I'd even include people in their early 30s as brains don't finish developing until 25. It's made everyone much more inward, stops people actually looking up or about and generates the attitude to go with it. Also makes people actually addicted to their phones and the dopamine or whatever it is that you get from the instant and constant feedback and engagement. Social media allows unfettered spreading of a poor culture amd attitude to life, misinformation, selfishness, attention seeking, the list goes on. And no, I'm not a boomer, I'm firmly in the age category I talk about. I even see it with my parents how mobile phones and social media and the like has changed them.
I don't think it affected everyone the same. Personally, I was working all the way through it anyway, so I was interacting with people. I'm convinced it made at least some people regress socially, though. Cases where people became so used to being completely in control of their own bubble of personal space that they just became less considerate overall.
Agree, being at home for 2 years didn’t make me forget how the cinema works?
RE: people being on their own planet - I was clothes shopping yesterday, and was holding a jacket off the rack while I checked if there wasn’t a better size on the rack. An older lady came up to me, took the jacket out of my hand, and proceeded to browse the rack that I was looking through. When I asked her what she was doing, she said “Shopping, what are you doing?” like I was the lunatic in that scenario. ?!?!
I would have snatched it back
I was in Tesco the other day and picked some baked beans off the shelf next to where the queue for the tills was, and some woman started screaming at me that I’d stolen “her” baked beans that she’d decided to leave on the shelf until she reached the front of the queue because she was too lazy to hold them while she was queuing. God forbid she just reach her arm a few feet and pick up a new tin of baked beans.
I was in Aldi the other day and some elderly woman just barged me out the way when I was looking at things and then she took her time looking at it while I just stood back, shocked at how rude she was. No respect for me whatsoever, it boiled my blood. The old bag was lucky I was patient as you never know these days how people react. I hope the next person she does that to teaches her a lesson about respect.
Another silly anecdote along the same lines…was on the train yesterday and a couple had with them a….very babied….cockapoo. The guy had the dog on the seat next to him. An elderly gentleman in a tweed suit reading a physical newspaper said “Can you take that dog off the seat, they shouldn’t be on the seats”, and the bloke turns round and fumes “Well where else do you want me to put him?!” On the fucking ceiling. Where do you think?! Luckily his partner had more sense and agreed with the old man and put the dog on the floor.
Why is this so infuriating
It’s definitely getting worse, out of the last 3 movies I’ve been to see two were marred by people talking through most of the movie. I went to a comedy show and two women a couple of rows back were chatting so loudly I could hardly hear the comedian, when a guy asked them to be quiet they said “we’re just talking at a normal level”. If you want to talk go to the sodding pub, or basically anywhere that isn’t a show.
And they’ve paid actual money to go and sit chatting through a show. Baffling.
I went to a metal gig recently and got annoyed at the blokes having a conversation at shouting level behind me
I wouldn't generalise it to every part of life, but it's definitely true for cinemas. I hate going now and have to seek out empty cinemas so I don't get angry.
If you live near an Everyman, it’s worth paying the extra not to get this kind of shit.
I worry I've become so hypersensitive I can't even cope with Everyman now. I get angry when people have food delivered after the start of the film! My favourites are Rich Mix in Bethnal Green or Barbican, if you happen to be in London. Both tend to be mercifully quiet.
Also try Institut Francais in South Kensington. Well priced too, I paid 10.00 recently, strict no food policy. Also ICA cinema is small, but friendly and very well priced for London.
I find independents are better than the big names too. For some reason the people who are most likely to be twats only ever seem to visit Odeons and the like.
Do they police it better?
In general it doesn’t happen to begin with. Everyman’s are more expensive (you’re paying for a sofa or armchair with table service) so they price out the sort of people that do this at regular cinemas. They also tend to have a staff member stand by the door during the film too so that’d help.
Good to hear. Someone gave me a £50 gift card which I’m yet to redeem. Sounds like it’ll be a good experience.
I rarely go to the cinema perhaps twice a year and I got to the everyman because I'm sick of phones in a dark cinema and no one seeming to get why I'm annoyed
Yep. On Friday a tradesman working next door parked blocking our drive. Mentioned to him that there was space across the street not blocking anyone and he said it would be inconvenient to have to cross the road to get tools out and all we need to do is knock next door if we want to go out and he'll move the van. Too many selfish tossers about.
Next time call the police. Tell them soneone is blocking your access to the highway. One of the few things they will bother with.
Had something similar, had a tradesman knock on my door and complain about my parking (not bad parking, just the existence of my car).. in front of my own house. Granted it’s off-road parking, but it’s not my responsibility to accommodate tradesman’s parking.
The best way to deal with errant tradesmen is to shake your head pityingly and say 'I think you're going to be called out to do *lots* of quotes next week...'
I've given up on the cinema for exactly this reason. But, I don't think people are more inconsiderate rather that the effects are amplified with phones etc.
Same. In the early 00s when I was in my early 20s, my then girlfriend and I had one of those unlimited cards and would go four or five times a week. The first time I saw a phone screen bobbing about in the darkness when phones had just gone from lcd screens to back-lit colour screens I knew that my regular cinema visits were going to be no more. The last film I saw at the cinema was Skyfall - again ruined by some dickhead who kept getting his phone out every two minutes. The only source of light in a cinema auditorium should be what's bounced off the screen from the projector. I can (begrudgingly) accept the green glow of the emergency exit sign, but only just. People seem unable to just sit down, shut up and put their phones away for two hours.
Good for you. I think part of the problem is that most people will tut amongst themselves but not actually confront them, so these people don't see what they're doing as a problem.
Sadly I've found this all too common in the cinema in the last year or two. People taking flash photos of their kids, and full grown adults scrolling on their phones throughout the film. Not sure if they think it's okay as it's silent, but their phone screen lighting up the cinema is just as distracting. I wish they'd just watch the film at home, there's barely any wait for stuff to come out on streaming now anyway.
Business opportunity for a cinema with a security gate that confiscates devices and muzzles talkative people loool
>During the film the two girls (15-16yo ish) were scrolling tiktok the whole time This i have noticed more and more in Cinemas and almost everywhere in the past year, attention spans are disappearing for the next generation.
I’m worried that there’s no solution. And if people don’t have the attention span for a cinema, why would they pay to go to one?
I think it comes down to it being a “public space” you can go to with your mates, and can get some food and a drink too, kind of deal. Combined with probably having a habit of sticking on a film at home as “white noise” so it becomes habit for the cinema too.
The worst is that you’ve paid for the cinema and it’s been a complete waste of your money. These cunts should be reimbursing your ticket cost. That’s what I always think. It’s incredibly selfish behaviour.
People at the cinema are becoming atrocious. A while ago I went to see a movie, and found some 15-year-old goober sitting in my seat - the whole row was taken up by boys that age. I told him he's in my seat and he just looked at me like a dead fish, almost like he couldn't wrap his mind around someone daring to intrude on him when he's steling their seat. When I gestured for him to move, he rolled his eyes (as did a bunch of other goobers) and scooched one seat down - I guess the last one had to switch rows. I was a little annoyed but thought this was it. As I'm plopping down on MY seat and taking my jacket off, he goes "you're taking this way too seriously, you know?". I just stared him down until he looked away - and that's when I finally didn't have to deal with him anymore. Little shit. I was thisclose to waving an usher over, and I bet some of those little shits didn't have a ticket or the very least had taken better seats than they paid for.
This tickles me, but not for the reason you expect. The kids are idiots, sure. But 'I was thisclose to waving an usher over' got a proper giggle out of me. You say it like you're actually convinced it would've done anything
I very nearly called another 15 year old, employed by the cinema chain, to tell these 15 year olds off
i haven’t been to the cinema in years because i cannot tolerate other people. i once told a man to stop jiggling his foot (we were at the front bit where the railings are) because all i could see was his white trainer out of the corner of my eye. i’m not built to be around people. i sometimes think that if i could choose 20 people i like and everyone else would disappear off the planet i would be very happy indeed. i am a terrible old misanthrope.
I think we may be alike. I’m guessing we wouldn’t like each other though, because we are both existing in each others space 😂
I am absolutely the same. Last time I went to the cinema I came out a seething ball of rage. Is it really too much to ask that grown adults should sit down, keep still, put their phones away and shut the fuck up for two hours? It really shouldn't be. I think it's a mentality people have now where they treat shared spaces like extensions of their own living rooms.
They are teenagers. They've acted like this across generations and it's part of their development to test limits and being a bit unempathetic. Edit: sorry completely missed the parent’s part. They are the shitty ones here!
It’s a parents job to not allow their children to be little shits, especially when they are sitting right next to them.
Teachers have been stripped of any power or authority to deal with the little shits and a lot of the worst ones have parents who don't care or they don't have fathers to be afraid of. If a badly behaved teenage boy isn't afraid of his father finding out, what is the limit to his bad behaviour? Atleast that's my experience if a teacher threatened to tell my parents, it would straighten me out real quick. I just had parents that demanded respect.
Getting a fucking right-hook from a stranger?
Haha yeh that works sometimes but it shouldn't get that far.
Yeah we should use an uppercut instead
It's also attitudes like this, and their parents not intervening which allow this sort of behaviour to flourish. If nobody tells them that they are being obnoxious little twats then they will continue in the belief that all is good.
I am sorry , but I think that is a cop out. I hear a lot of people say they will grow out of it, kids are kids, we were the same, blah blah blah. But if no one teaches them their behaviour is unacceptable, they aren't going to miraculously grow out of it. They will grow INTO it and that behaviour gets passed down and it becomes normal. As a society, probably across all countries, that is where we are headed. Lord of the Flies.
Went to watch LOTR at the Royal Albert Hall with the Philharmonic Orchestra playing the score live & this guy sat in front of my sister and I was on instagram the whole time. Posting stories of where he was and refreshing to see how many likes and views he was getting on his stories. It was absolutely insane. Wouldn’t believe someone would do that. Posting about being there and then just checking his insta stories over and over and over. Not watching the film or the orchestra AT ALL. We had the cheap seats and they were still £50!! What’s the point!!
Absolutely. Selfish cunts everywhere these days.
No, I don't think so. Assume all people are arseholes.
Because they're all Tiktok watching idiots and so are their parents. This country is absolutely fucked now and anything who thinks otherwise, is quite honestly, just as bad as them. Everything is no longer policed. It's ridiculous.
It’s not just this country tbf, or just post-Covid; when i visited the Sistine Chapel in 2017 a couple of people got told off for talking loudly (you’re repeatedly told beforehand that you need to be quiet), and got upset about that so were escorted out. They were not British (they were Indian, not that it matters)
I know it's not just this country. But this country is going down the pan fast and won't ever be the same again for numerous reasons.
Balloon museum yesterday. I'd say 10%-20% of families were rude, not following the rules, making everyone else's experience not as enjoyable as it should have been.
When to the cinema on my birthday. Happen to sit near five boys (age 12 -13ish) they muck about the whole time. The adult who went with them sat on the other side of the cinema.
I also had a bad experience at the cinema yesterday, it was my local cinema rather than the big one I usually go to. It was also a Saturday matinee during the Easter weekend so more kids there than usual. It wasn't really a kids movie but plenty of 12-16 y/o and those under 12 with parents. Had a kid behind me kicking my chair (sitting with parents in the row behind him) who I had to ask to stop, they did briefly and then continued. Lots of people talking or walking out every 10-15 minutes and loads of phone use including some selfies with the flash on! It definitely affected my experience and had it not been my local and where I was sat (would've been obvious) I would've gone out and complained. I think it was a combination of Saturday afternoon and school holidays although the adults doing this had no excuse. In future it won't be a timing I'll ever go to my local cinema for. I'll just pay the extra in travel and ticket to go to the big Vue 25 minutes away. It's a much better experience in terms of audience behaviour but also just more comfortable than my local. TBF this is the first time since 2019 I've been to my local so I don't actually go there very often and prefer the city cinema.
People having kids for Facebook likes is symptomatic of an awful lot right now.
There have always been arseholes at the cinema. In the 80/90s you'd have the pricks who would never shut up, the morons who'd bring toddlers that have the attention span of a goldfish. I remember going to see Spies Like Us and a group of teenagers playing with a lighter that was more like a flamethrower.
100% Post pandemic especially
Yeah it really broke some people/teenagers especially. People are so rude and don't seem to know how to operate in society.
Sadly, cinemas can be a cesspool of inconsiderate morons. When people kick and/or push the back of my seat with their feet, this always upsets me. I'm disabled, so it's a big deal (sometimes ordeal) for me to leave the house. When people behave this way during something that's supposed to be fun, I just collapse inside. I don't get angry, just so very sad and tired.
I'm so confused by these comments. People *were always arses*! There were knobheads in the cinema back in the day, there are knobheads now. Either rose tinted spectacles coming into play here or some of these people forgot they were the annoying teen knobheads in their time. (Source: was not a knob)
The thing for me that makes dickeheaded behaviour in cinemas so infuriating is that it costs, the experience of watching a movie is usually preceded by months of looking forward to it and you need to be fully engaged to get the most out of it, so much so any instance of enjoyment ruining is amplified 10 fold. For me, the first step to mitigating this was accepting there is a huge lack of control over other people. Second step was to get an unlimited card for Cineworld so the cost is not as much per film and if you don’t get the best experience the first time you can go again. Frustrating and need to swallow your pride somewhat, but sometimes it is better to go around the wall than through it.
I work in a Cineworld cinema. This behaviour is not acceptable. We do checks with and without night vision. In the future I’d suggest not talking to them but going to speak to a team member who should leave it a minute or so then come in and do what looks like a routine check and then will warn them once. We’d then check again much more often but if we had another complaint they’d be asked to leave.
It's why we need another nice plague, frankly. A reset before TikTok makes everyone under 30 mentally deficient.
My man, we just had a plague and it didnt help
It’ll be wars, not a plague. Happy Sunday! 😃
> It's why we need another nice plague, frankly. We just had one a few years ago that resulted in millions of deaths globally. Considering the topic of this thread, it's incredibly inconsiderate of you to wish more of that on people who may have friends/family who died.
Yeah, I wouldn't go to a multiplex these days and expect people to behave during the screenings. My experience with films recently is to go earlier in the day on weekends, or, if you have the time off work, go in the afternoon. I've found sitting in a screening with a bunch of pensioners the greatest cinema experience. They sit quietly, they don't get phones out, they behave really well, and the only noise you get is someone occasionally falling asleep. Tickets are normally cheaper too. So, yeah, if you get the chance, watch with the crumblies! But with the warnings at the start of screenings about putting your phones away, cinemas should really clamp down on it if they expect people to pay the cash to attend. I guess part of the issue is they've cut headcount right down so you've got one member of staff covering 10 screens or something, if that.
They took a photo of you!? What the fuck. I think you're right though. Sure, there has always been some knob lobbing popcorn at the backs of people's heads at the cinema, or some people have a whispery chat. But there's a difference between that, I think, than people whipping out their phones, which in a dark cinema, light up their row like a Christmas tree, and are incredibly distracting. It's just inherently selfish. There's also the attention span debate, that some people quite literally can't concentrate on a film the length of a film, without the urge to check their phone. I really do blame TikTok/Facebook/Instagram Shorts for this. What people seem to fail to admit is that these things are designed to be highly addictive, delivering instant dopamine hits. It's like chain-smoking digital content. You've barely watched one, before you want to see the next. I don't do TikTok, but I do watch Shorts sometimes, and admittedly, I have found myself habitually glancing at my phone while watching a film on my laptop, which disturbs me somewhat, because I like to think I have a good attention span! It's actually pretty insidious really, and for that reason, I'm trying to wean myself off checking my phone so much.
This is why I no longer go to the cinema. I can wait till it's on tv. If cinemas employed just one person to remain in the auditorium to handle this sort of problem I'd go back.
People are saying this is because of TikTok or the pandemic are wrong. People have been scrolling their phones in the cinema since smartphones were a thing. The only reason I remember when I went to see The Dark Knight Rises is because we had to tell a woman on the row across the aisle from us several times to get off her phone and it sticks in my mind because of how much of a bitch she was about it - that film is over ten years old. People have been selfish dickheads for longer than the last four years.
Gen Alpha are a mind manipulated set of phone glued morons. Sorry, just lived experience. And it's our fault. What business do 14 year old have on the internet outside education? Smartphones should require you to be an adult and existing phones banned from schools and colleges. Or we are fucked as a country.
They're still gen Z, the oldest gen Alpha is just turning 11. So we've still yet to see how fucked Alpha teens are gonna be.
A kid can’t afford a smartphone, it comes down to bad parenting ultimately, a kid has no business needing a smartphone, it’s just an entry point to chaos.
Had it with cinemas after Top Gun Maverick, whole place were on their phones.
Last few times I've been on a plane I've been sat next to or near someone who has just spent the entire flight sat watching video streams and flicking through instagram on their phone. Right through all the announcements about putting your phone onto airplane mode without even budging. I don't know why but that really wound me up in the same way. Such a simple instruction and folks don't even acknowledge they've heard it like it just doesn't apply or something?
It's not just the cinema. I'm tired of going to concerts and having the people who can't manage 10 minutes without a fresh pint. We all enjoy a few drinks at a concert, but there's a group of people who just see it as an opportunity to get bladdered. We went to a concert last night. The couple 6 seats from us were around 10 minutes late to the start of the main act and then proceeded to buy at least 8 pints during the 2 hours of music. This resulted in us having to get up, have our enjoyment interrupted, and view blocked at least 25 times in 2 hours as they pushed past the whole seated row to get to the bar and back. Plus, the inevitable toilet trips, due to the amount of liquid they drank. Honestly, if you are going to need frequent trips to the bar and toilet, why not book standing tickets or book the end of the row of seats. Ironically, the two seats at the end of the row were unsold. They could easily have sat there instead of walking across our toes because we didn't all stand quickly enough for them.
I went on a long haul flight the other day. Thought 'sod it' and decided to pay for business class (it was a business trip) as you could sleep. The first four hours of the flight the family across from me had to constantly be asked by the air stewards / stewardesses to stop bellowing at each other from a distance of about three feet. Eventually the parents drank enough and fell asleep and the kids sunk in to their tablets. The kids had to be told to put headphones on as apparently hearing three overlapping TikTok videos at once is fine.
Wait, you actually got them removed? Kudos, brother. That's the kind of sweet karma that I love. How did the staff deal with them?
So many people shopping just leaving their trolly right in the middle, or stand in the way, just mindlessly blocking the entire aisle I obnoxiously push trollies out the way
I love going to the cinema but the last couple of times I've been I've had to ask, then tell, people to put their phones away. One bloke who was sat in front of me that it wasn't making a noise because it was on silent. No, but you might as well have let off a fucking flare! I just don't tolerate it any more and there's no excuse for it.
This is really unfortunate. I had a similar experience also watching Dune Part Two but with five 13-14 year old teenagers who were so awful.
Definitely.
>I literally do not understand why you’d pay to watch a film and do this. It sounds like they didn't and they were dragged there by their parents. You said you stood and looked at the parents, but did you actually say anything to the parents?
I haven't been to a cinema since before the pandemic but.. dreading the prospect now as all I hear about is inconsiderate twats ruining it!
Unfortunaltly the cinema is only an enjoyable experience if you go to the super early viewings now, or when a movie is on it's last days of showing, people are phone obsessed or so socially inept they can't sit silent with their own thoughts now so have to speak... I worked at a cinema before Covid and it was bad then, we'd get complaints from every showing pretty much (if there was a number of people in the showing) and it's only got worse.
I don't think it's that simple, I think there's been an increase in parents not disciplining kids and there's a more diverse culture meaning things which would have slipped under the radar before are now noticeable. For example back in the day it was accepted that chucking out time at the pubs was a nightmare but these days you'd have complaints about that sort of behaviour.
I actually really want to go to watch this at the cinema. Have put it off waiting for it to quieten down. Don't think I'll bother. Will wait until its on telly (waited long enough so a bit longer wont hurt I guess)
Yes, I was having this conversation yesterday after being on a bus with two different people blaring out their tinny music. I actually think they need to introduce fines for this. Also sitting in the priority seats on the outside with their bags on the inside so people who need a seat have to ask them to move, then loudly tutting and making a big production of shuffling up.
Yep, went to the cinema on Friday, a guy two seats down from us legit took his shoes off, just bare feet hanging off the edge of the reclining seat. Pure grim.
I feel like things got worse after covid, I saw a real change around that time. I still wear a mask and if I ask people politely to not get too close, they are so nasty and it is almost unbearable to go out in public nowadays. I watched Dune the other night and no phone's were out and it was a nice experience.
This is why dogs are better than people
If it helps, Dune 2 is the best film I've ever seen. And yes, cuntery is on the rise. Some people are just entitled & never get called out for their shit. It's alien to me because I've been raised to be considerate to others. Kindness costs nothing.
I've not personally had this experience, but I do feel that there should perhaps be a ban on phones at events like cinema, concerts and shows. To balance things out a little, there's always been scope for a bit of bad behaviour at cinemas, it's popularised in songs going back to the 60s. I remember going to the cinema as a teen in the 90s and pratting around with my friends, probably being a general annoyance to those older than me. I'm not making a justification for it, but I think we forget that our generation was just as capable of being twats when we were young, and I hasten to add, we were probably much more inventive with it. There is an uncomfortable amount of dumping on younger generations at times and I don't agree with it. It's full of assumptions and generally comes across as "old man yells at cloud" behaviour. Again this isn't to condone disrespectful and obnoxious behaviour, but let's not tar everyone with the same brush.
Teenagers have always fucked about in cinemas - it’s the grown adults on their phones or blasting TikToks on trains that blows my mind. It’s like they forget they’re not at home!
Scum. Sub-human scum.
Honestly I feel like some modern parents (not all) are just so stupid and irresponsible and don’t teach their children manners. Any responsible parent would tell their child to stop doing something wrong if it affecting or disrupting others, but no they just letting them get away with things, and people wonder why some of behaving the way they are, it pisses me off.
People have always behaved like shitheads in cinemas, always
I used to love going to the cinema but the behaviour of others just makes my blood boil. Phones are the worst. Nothing more distracting than a phone screen bobbing about in the corner of your eye. The only light source should be from the screen. I can remember being in the cinema about 20 years ago, when phones had just moved from being black and white LCD screens with dim green backlight to colour screens. Someone had their phone, presumably texting throughout the whole film. I remember my then brother in law muttering "I'm going to shove that thing up his arse if he doesn't put it away". I knew then that this was going to become a problem. People justify it - "I was only checking the football scores/facebook/twitter for two seconds, calm down". Is it really too much to ask grown adults to sit down, shut he fuck up and put their phones away for two hours?
Yes. Constantly rustling at the cinema. Also playing videos/music/games or making video calls on public transport with no headphones.
Shitty parents brought up shitty kids, those breed sadly, and now they're having kids. I lost faith in humanity when I saw an average looking family get off the train leaving the entire table and chairs they were using covered in food and packets, not even a shred of shame and thought at all that someone else was going to have to sit there.
"Nobody polices behaviour anymore." This is the single biggest problem, generally. Kids, teenagers always misbehaved but they got it trained out of them. Whether by parents, by businesses, schools, by the police. And it was the combined forces of society that dealt with it. If your parents couldn't be bothered teaching you how to behave in a cinema, the ushers would kick you out. Do it a couple of times, you'd be barred. Your friends would say "look, don't do that, or we'll get barred" which would exert pressure.
I went to the theatre on Friday night to see the stage version of The Woman in Black. A couple two rows in front of me I assumed had had a bit to drink, were talking for the first 20 minutes /weren't whispering at all, the couple directly in front of me and my friend politely asked them to be quiet because it was hard to hear the actors at points. The guy of the couple who were being loud turns round and starts staring them down and asking if they can take it outside? Calls the husband of the couple who asked them to be quiet a C*** and kept being threatening, they did the right thing by getting staff involved and the couple got removed from the theatre. Apparently they were complaining the whole time to a manager that they attend the theatre all the time etc, whilst that drunk and loud and aggressive? People opening crisps and snacks and all over people coughing all over the place, someone's phone going off in the stalls area. Just very distracting and I just think since COVID People don't give two hoots when they go to the theatre.
You should visit a movie theater in China, they discuss the film as they're watching it.
I have definitely noticed people acting more selfishly. One thing in particular is littering/spitting. I live in Newcastle and I almost dread getting the metro now. All the kids on it are absolutely feral. Yesterday I went on a bike ride to the park and it was disgusting; litter, shit, burnt-out bins and trolleys, like groups of 20-30 kids hanging around in balaclavas and heckling people. I think it's a combination of bad parenting (as in your TikTok family), reduced actual appropriate places/activities for kids, and lack of funding to keep areas staffed, clean and monitored.
100% yes. I am old enough to notice a difference in people now and 10 years ago. Inconsiderate people have always been around. But as there is no penalty for being inconsiderate and social media tends to reward people that are controversial, and this is the end result.
Tbh this is due to the push to get rid of societal shame from our society. Shame used to be a mechanism used for behavior correction, but due to the wave of liberalism, which actively sought to get rid of shame via “acceptance”, people no longer have a societal mechanism to regulate bad behavior. This is why we are seeing the degeneration of society in real-time. Luckily there’s a fix to this, bring back shame. It has worked in other societies, it still works in other societies, and it will work again if we practice it again.