Using headphones in public is a matter of

basic decency

By River Powers, Reporter

I’m sure everyone has had this experience: you are sitting in a shared space trying to concentrate on your reading, studying, or homework, when someone nearby starts blaring the latest pop hits at top volume. Or maybe they are watching a TikTok, or a sports game in which the announcers are shouting excitedly. Meanwhile, you sit there failing to concentrate in the cacophony.

While the person generating the sound is having a blast, the others in the room suffer for it. It is difficult to focus in a public space, much less when the space is taken up by noise. I can’t count all the times I’ve been in public happily minding my own business, when suddenly someone starts blasting anything from a music video to a sports broadcast to a mobile game directly out of their speakers. At best, it is a nuisance; at worst, it hinders focus for students completing schoolwork, and drowns out friendly lunchtime conversations. Listening to music without headphones in public sacrifices others’ comfort for your own.

When in a public space, you should be considerate to others’ needs. Listening to things without headphones in public spaces is a blatant violation of others’ boundaries. While expecting public spaces to be perfectly quiet is unreasonable, being unable to listen to music is a slight inconvenience at worst. Having to go without music is nowhere near as bad as being forced to listen to others’ music at unreasonable volumes.

Headphones and earbuds are easy to acquire. Even if you intend to show the audio to more than one person at once, you can simply share earbuds, take turns, or just not listen to the audio at all. If you don’t have any, you can simply wait until you get home.

Next time you want to pull up a game on your phone or catch up on your favorite sports team, please think of the others around you. Either use headphones or hit the mute button.