I’ve touched on this subject in previous blogs. If you are traveling solo on mass transit, nothing beats having an iPod and a few hundred of your favorite tunes to keep you company. Look around the next time you are on a plane, train or bus and I bet you’ll see more travelers with iPods than without them. Major airlines have picked up on the trend and as I mentioned in a previous blog, they are accommodating their high-tech music fans by installing iPod connections in their in-flight entertainment systems. So chock one up for all the travelers who bring their iPods along for the ride.
Now… let’s talk about all the travelers who either leave their iPods at home or who simply don’t own one BUT are forced to sit beside frequent fliers who frequently blast their iPods at full volume.
Allow me to paint a picture for you:
You save your money for nearly a year to take your dream tirp from New York to Hawaii. You even spend the extra cash to take a non-stop flight. Things couldn’t be better until the guy seated next to you whips on out his iPod and his techno music can be heard by you and the guy seated four rows behind you.
Rude! It’s the conclusion most etiquette experts come to. Etiquette instructors at The Emily Post Institute coach travelers who prefer to wear iPods to “listen to music at a level that you can hear and others don’t have to be subject to.”
I agree being seated next to a traveler who amps their iPod to its highest volume is bothersome, but it pales in comparison to the passenger who decides to belt out the lyrics to his or her favorite tune. Or, the iPod users who conduct conversations without taking their earbuds off. Now that’s annoying, especially if you are stuck in close proximity to said singer or talker in a place where silence is golden (or at least appreciated) such as planes and trains.
So what is the best method to deal with an annoying iPod user? According to the etiquette experts, first, you should give your fellow traveler the benefit of the doubt. Not all iPod noise polluters realize that the volume is up so high. Or they may simply be hard of hearing (listening to iPods at high levels can do that).
If that doesn’t work try a less confrontational approach like a friendly tap on the shoulder. Other options: sing along to the offender’s blaring tunes (that should get his attention), grin and bear it and let it go, or simply get an iPod of your own.
Related Articles:
Good News For People Who Travel With iPods
The Stuff Urban Myths Are Made Of
Travel and The Ban On Electronic Devices—-Is It Going Too Far?
Repair or Replace Part 2–Other Electronics