6 Bad Behaviors to Stop Immediately in Public

Whether you live in a big city like New York or a small town, inappropriate and rude public behavior is annoying to deal with and people are sounding off on what others do that drive them crazy. In a Reddit subgroup someone asked, "What is something people do in public that makes you uncomfortable?" and the commenters didn't hold back. 

Being next to someone who has their phone on speaker while talking to someone on the phone is annoying, yet people still do it all the time. "My mom talks on the phone on speaker in public, and it GRINDS my gears," one person said. "Another added, "When we would go grocery shopping, my mom used to put her music on out loud without headphones while we would be shopping and it literally still haunts me." Someone joked, "I want to listen to music, so everybody has to listen to music!" A commenter wrote, "The worst ones are the speaker phone people who hold it 5cm away from their ear." Another stated, "Phones should be automatically confiscated for this." A Redditor chimed in, "Came here to say this and I'll add FaceTiming too. I find it incredibly rude." Another person wrote, "I absolutely hate this; I usually try to be open minded about most things, but I hate that people have to share their phone calls with everyone. If they don't want to put their phone to their ear, they can just use headphones! I don't understand it."

Fighting with your partner, family member, child or friend can happen in public, but keep the drama to a minimum and don't be loud, commenters advise. "I've been there, I've done that, it's not a good look, don't do it," one person wrote. Another added, "I've been there too much… I don't think I can do it again. I feel embarrassed thinking about this." Someone else wrote, "I always say to someone arguing loudly " the more you scream loudly, the more you look like someone who has no balls, what's the problem, you know if you don't scream, no one would care about what you say, uh?" A person replied, "This. A couple started arguing very loudly in a packed restaurant and I had enough so I told them to go outside. They both started screaming at me until I showed them my concealed carry and repeated myself. Another shared, "My mom argued with my oldest brother on the phone while we were at the grocery store," a commenter shared. "Awkward especially since she had to tell him repeatedly that he can't take the money we had in the drawer cause that was our rent money." 

Watching an angry customer unleash on an employee who doesn't have the ability to change a situation is cringe-worthy and people want that to stop. "If there aren't enough cashiers at a store and you've had to wait a while, don't take it out on whoever rings you up. If something isn't in stock, don't give attitude to the employee just trying to make the store look decent and get through the day making hardly any money in the process." Another added, "If something isn't in stock, don't give attitude to the employee. One time we had a lady at our store accuse us of "not wanting to sell her things" because a certain item was out of stock. Found out she asked three separate employees to check the back for her because she didn't believe the previous ones. She thought we were all lying and were withholding the items from her or were just "not looking hard enough" because our website said we had it in stock. Because we all know the website is never wrong."

Coughing or sneezing in public is not only gross, but it spreads germs and bacteria. Commenters are shocked this is still happening, after COVID. "Yes, especially after three years of everyone being inundated with messaging about covering your mouth," someone remarked. "There was a dude coughing up a storm and I gave him a weird look and his response was literally 'what? Covid is over.' Like that isn't the only disease in the world," another added. "Cough into an elbow, that's what I was taught," another added. 

Nobody wants to see someone spit, but yet people do it all the time and commenters had a lot to say about it. "I currently live in Spain, and it seems way more common here, especially with men over 40," one person revealed. "It makes me cringe, and if I ever went on a date with a spitter, the date would end the moment he spits." Another added, "One of my best friends does this and it's just downright disgusting. He'll do it on that last 20ft stretch before you enter the doors of a place like target and I'm always just like, W.T.F. bro, that's gross. "What man? We're outside." He'll say. I think it's pretty damn rude. I can't stand it when he does it, especially when I'm with him."

It can be difficult to give someone their personal space in a packed public area, but when you don't need to stand so close, don't commenters say. "Close talkers make me so uncomfortable," one person wrote. "I very slowly back up throughout the conversation. I hope it's not too noticeable but I can't handle the awkwardness." Another added, "I try not to be rude, but often my subtle ways get me nowhere in life. I'm trying your approach next time. Look out all you close talking bubble busters!" Someone else wrote, "I make it super obvious by placing objects between us and positioning myself behind them. Doesn't work. They keep moving around them to get in my face, even if I've rearranged a third of the office space."