One of my biggest pet peeves when I travel is hearing people play music or talk on the phone without earbuds or headphones. It happens on almost every flight, as well as in the gate area and inside club lounges. (In the photo below, a traveler in the American Airlines lounge was watching TikTok videos on full volume without headphones.) I find it mind-boggling when people behave as if they’re the only ones in the world, without a care or consideration for those around them. And in 2025, using headphones should simply be standard practice.
I even find it happening at beaches around the world, thanks to small but powerful speakers. I’m sorry, but the last thing I want to hear on the beach in Hawaii is some Australian dude sitting 50 feet away speaking on FaceTime, or some tourist playing loud R-rated rap music while my kids are playing in the sand in Antigua.
Bare beating: A growing trend
I just learned that this behavior has a term, ‘bare beating’, and that it’s a growing trend in travel. According to CNN, “You probably know the activity as ‘playing music or video out loud without using headphones,’ and chances are high that you’ve already encountered it. As one bare beater’s transgression encourages the next, it’s a growing scourge that has train, plane and bus passengers around the world irate.”
To make matters worse, people these days act like there’s no recourse because there’s no accountability. A great but disturbing example (see embedded video below) just happened on a Southwest Airlines flight, as what appears to be a teenage kid snaps when a passenger dares to call him out for bare beating.
INSANE: A kid causes chaos mid-flight on Southwest, then snaps when a passenger dares to call him out.
Why is this behavior so normalized now?
Planes are becoming free-for-alls—and no one seems to do anything.Sound off—what would you have done if you were on this flight? ⬇️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Jb1WcHVqi3
— Tony Lane 🇺🇸 (@TonyLaneNV) May 16, 2025
The person who posted the video created a poll asking, “What’s the real solution when a kid goes full meltdown mid-flight?” With over 16,000 votes, the tallies were:
Restrain the kid: 21.2%
Remove family on landing: 5.7%
Ban them from flying: 42.5%
Arrest if necessary: 30.5%
In the comment section, people had a lot to say (most aren’t appropriate to include here), but one person asked, “Do people parent anymore?” It’s a good question and just by being around young kids, I wonder the same thing. For the most part (at least regarding the parents I know who are around my kids ages, 5 and 8), they do. But there still seems to be a shocking number of parents who either don’t seem to care, don’t want to be a helicopter parent or have just given up on teaching kids what’s right or wrong.
But it’s not just kids. I actually find some of the worst offenders are middle-aged and even seniors. The latter I let slide because I realize they can’t hear or aren’t up to speed on how to use technology … at least that’s how my late father used FaceTime when he was in his 90s. But something needs to be done, because bare beating needs to be beaten down.
According to The Independent, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer “has been urged to fine nuisance public transport users who play music out loud on buses and trains up to £1,000. Amid growing public anger at what the party dubbed “headphone dodgers”, Sir Ed Davey is pushing for a crack down on the antisocial behaviour.”
The article goes on to say that “the Liberal Democrats are seeking a change in the law that would explicitly ban playing music and videos out loud on English public transport.”
Maybe fines should be implemented here in the United States as well.
KEEP READING
–Is it okay to recline your seat on a short flight?
–‘Eliminate those buttons!’ Larry David rants about reclining seats on airplanes
–Why you need to let the passenger behind you know you’re about to do this
–United Airlines passenger aggressively kicks seat in front because passenger reclined – Airline investigating the incident
–10 air travel pet peeves and how to deal with them
Want more travel news, tips and deals? Sign up to Johnny Jet’s free newsletter and check out these popular posts: The Travel Gadget Flight Attendants Never Leave Home Without and 12 Ways to Save Money on Baggage Fees. Follow Johnny Jet on MSN, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube for all of my travel posts.
