The UK’s digital regulator Ofcom has found that almost half of people in the country loudcast from their phones in public. As you may have guessed, loudcasting is when someone plays music or watches videos on their phone in public loudly without earbuds – an action which reportedly annoys eight in ten people in the UK.
As you’ll likely have guessed, loudcasting is much more likely to be practised by young people and the older you get, the more annoyed by it you’re likely to be. Funnily enough, three-quarters of loudcasters find the practice to be frustrating when they hear someone else’s phones – it seems like it just hasn’t filtered through to them that other people find them annoying.
Thankfully, perpetrators of loudcasting are more likely to be on a video call rather than listening to bad music. Around 36% of respondents listened to music on their phone, compared to 45% who said they make video calls and 46% who said they watch videos. The findings found that someone was more likely to be playing music if they were younger and came from a black, Asian, or minority ethnic background.
If you are a loudcaster and concerned about getting told off, just stop worrying. The findings found that only 9% of people ask others to stop loudcasting. The majority will do nothing or move away from the area. If you’re in earshot of parents, though, watch out because they are more than twice as likely to ask you to be quiet than non-parents.