Singapore’s worst annoyance on public transport is people blasting videos on their phones

SINGAPORE: In a recent post in the Complaint Singapore group, an online user shared, “So annoying that so many on public transport watch videos with the volume turned on loudly, in their own drama mama world!”

Others rallied behind the post, with a handful pointing out that many elderly people who do not have earphones seem to do this. “Usually elder(ly) people who don’t have earpieces or earpods, when they do that, I will purposely go beside them and blast my own songs too…you can, I cannot?” wrote one.

Still, another shared, “Yeah the seniors (are) usually hard of hearing and not savvy with earpods etc…most people are aware they’re just tolerating and some (are) oblivious (and) numbed already.”

In a recent post, an online user caught a passenger doing the same thing and shared a video recording with the same group. The four-second clip featured a young passenger watching videos on social media with the volume turned on. The online user captioned, “Inconsiderate pax turning on (volume) so loud.”

“Just now got one auntie in my bus too,” another responded.

In November, The Straits Times shared the results of an online poll with 11,485 responses. The poll sought out people’s biggest pet peeves among people who commute. People watching videos with the volume on bagged first place on the poll, with 48.6 per cent of the votes.

Based on the 11,485 responses collected from a poll ST ran on Telegram, Instagram and LinkedIn last week, videos blared out at high volume on devices emerged as the top pet peeve among commuters, followed by passengers boarding trains or buses before others alight and commuters who place their belongings on seats.

Passengers who board before letting people get off bagged second place, with 30.8 per cent of the votes. Passengers who put their things on public transportation seats bagged third, with 14.6 per cent. Passengers who hog grab poles got 6 per cent of the votes.