It’s common to see people standing in grocery store lines, chatting loudly on speakerphones, or playing music from their phones on crowded subway trains, no headphones, no effort to keep it private. It happens all the time, especially in big busy cities where shared spaces never seem quiet. Still, even now, plenty of people carry on without giving it a second thought.
A recent PCMag survey (which was originally carried out by YouGov in May 2025) asked more than two thousand adults in the United States about how they feel when people use phones in public spaces. Three out of four said they believe it’s wrong to take speakerphone calls or start video chats without headphones in places like supermarkets and coffee shops. But strangely enough, almost one in four people said they’re fine with it.
Not everyone agrees on this. In fact, around 20% of people said playing music out loud in public is also totally acceptable. Some might say this shows how much public manners have loosened over time.
Age really seems to shape these opinions. For example, most older adults, especially Boomers, find this behavior completely inappropriate. Younger folks, particularly Generation Z, often seem a lot more relaxed about it. Maybe it’s because they’ve always had smartphones around them. Maybe it’s because the way they communicate feels different. Whatever the reason, they don’t seem to mind sharing their phone noise with strangers.
Older generations probably grew up thinking about public manners in a very particular way, don’t disturb people, don’t make a scene, that sort of thing. Younger people, though? They seem to care more about convenience and what feels natural to them.
But phones aren’t just about loud calls and music. There’s also the matter of privacy. Most adults in the survey said that snooping on someone’s phone, like checking a partner’s device without asking, is definitely not okay. Around 84% said this is where they draw the line. Though, interestingly, nearly one out of four Millennials said they think it’s acceptable.
And when it’s not a partner but a friend or family member? People get even stricter. About 92% said looking through someone’s phone in those situations is unacceptable.
Some people might say that in close relationships, things get blurry. People feel more entitled to look. Maybe it’s about trust. Maybe it’s just curiosity. But with friends or family, that line seems a lot harder to cross.
The survey didn’t stop there. It also asked about using AI tools (like ChatGPT) to write texts or emails. This really split people. A little more than half of those surveyed said they’re not comfortable with it. But among Gen Z and Millennials, about half said they’re completely fine with it. Maybe they just see it as a smart way to save time.
Older adults often seem to think using AI for messages feels like cheating. But this view might not stick around forever. AI is showing up everywhere, so some experts think people will get used to it. Probably sooner than we think.
The survey also revealed some other habits that make people pause. For instance, three out of four adults said it’s rude to text or email while talking to someone face-to-face. Gen Z, though, seems to feel differently, about 40% said they don’t see a problem with it.
Then there’s phone use in bathrooms. Gen Z leads the way here. Almost half of them think taking selfies or mirror photos in the bathroom is totally fine, especially if the lighting’s good. Older generations? Most still say it’s a bad idea.
Another fact to note is that most people from all generations said they don’t like it when strangers get recorded or photographed without permission. Even so, around 20% of people in every age group said they’re okay with it. Opinions, as always, are mixed.
It’s pretty clear that younger people are shaping new rules for how phones fit into daily life, though most adults still expect some basic level of politeness and privacy when it comes to technology.
Read next:
• Uber’s Pricing Model Appears to Push Both Drivers and Riders Into Worse Deals, Oxford Study Finds
• How to Find Someone Using Just a Photo: 10 Best Reverse Image Search Tools (Ranked and Explained)
