Are you a “loudcaster” with your phone? Take a look at this.
You’re on the bus and That Guy gets on again. Instead of wearing headphones, he’s blaring music right out of his phone speakers, annoying everyone around him. Or maybe he’s streaming a movie/TV show/YouTube video and everyone can hear it. That Guy has a name: He’s a “loudcaster.”
Ofcom, the British broadcasting regulator, has launched a study into loudcasters as part of an investigation into how people in the UK use technology and consume media. They found the following:
- 46% of people say they watch videos in public without headphones.
- Teenagers are most likely to be loudcasters (83%).
- Men do it more than women (52% vs. 40%. They don’t account for the other 8%.)
- 45% say they make video calls without headphones. If we look at teens, that number is 69%.
- Loudcasters feel that buses and trains are fair game. So are restaurants and cafes.
- 58% believe that loudcasting in a public place is okay and acceptable.
- 80% find loudcasting annoying.
- 52% of young people reported negative reactions to loudcasting. For those 55 and over, that number rises to 89%.
- Those who are annoyed by the loudcasting of other combat things by moving away (44%). Only 9% ask the loudcaster to cut it out.
Does any of this sound like you?
My only surprise from this study is the number of offenders is not much higher
As one who suffers from a quite high degree of Misophonia (super sensitivity to certain noises), speakerphones & smart phone speakers are a big trigger for me. The Pandemic was a great time with having very few people out in public playing music/videos without headphones to deal with
Now the world has gone backwards to worse than what was considered normal before 2020, those of us who suffer from this now have even more people being even more disrespectful by refusing to use headphones when on calls in the workplace as well as when they are out in public
Doesn’t surprise me, that’s our society in 2022. No cares about other people so why not just blast my phone so everyone can hear? Get Headphones!