There's nothing more annoying than sitting behind talkative people browsing MySpace.com in class, or being next to a loud, obnoxious drunk at a concert, but unfortunately these types of situations seem to happen quite often.
I remember way back in elementary school when someone was being annoying and I told them to stop, the especially persistent ones would try to use the First Amendment against me and say, "It's a free country!" making me want to kick them in their shins. Just having freedoms doesn't mean you have to use them to be so irritating. I don't think everyone has gotten that message.
Those annoying kids probably grew up to be the annoying students in my classes today. With such high tuition rates, I would think that students would want to get their money's worth by getting the most out of their classes. Instead, I often notice many students in my lecture hall classes doing everything but pay attention. As much as I try to concentrate, the allure of watching someone play a flash game online or looking at MySpace party pictures starts to distract me. People talking, though their conversations might be interesting, also divert my focus from the lecture. Then there's also the occasional time when someone actually answers their phone in class. These activities frustrate me and I'm sure they also irritate the instructor.
There are definitely some days when a class is especially boring, or I just don't feel like being there, but I try to stay quiet for everyone else who needs to be able to focus. I can put up with a lot of crap in class, and sometimes I may contribute to it a little, but it can get to be too much.
As a solution, if you don't want to be there, just don't go and save everyone else a lot of frustration if you're going to talk. The people who don't want to be there will have more fun elsewhere, and the rest of us can suffer through or enjoy class in peace. If the class is required, then you might as well just feign interest and hope time goes by quickly.
I don't often go to concerts, but when I do I expect to have a good time, especially because of the giant dent tickets make in my bank account. Concerts tend to be enjoyable despite the facts that I usually can't see anything because I'm short, and they never have shirts that fit me. Once people start getting drunk, however, the whole experience starts to decline in its level of fun as they start to get rowdier.
I know people like to sing along with their favorite songs in the car, at home, in the shower or where ever else, but it can be grating at a concert when the crowd's singing is louder than the artist's. I came to listen to the band, not all the other people in attendance. This tends to happen at smaller concert venues. At larger ones, sometimes it's not everyone that's overpowering, it's the person next to me. In some cases it's fine to sing, like if the band encourages it, or as long as it's not loud enough to the point that someone's tone-deaf voice fills the ears of people around them.
Applauding and cheering for the artist after a song is welcome, but it can be aggravating when people whoop and yell during a song. The enthusiasm is great, but shouting during quiet parts of songs makes it seem that those people want to hear their own voices and be the center of attention.
This behavior isn't limited to these situations, but is a recurring theme anywhere people come in contact with each other. Being considerate of others is a behavior that is going extinct. It isn't that hard and doesn't stifle freedom unless being irritating is the only way for you to have fun.
If you find yourself in the annoyed camp, consider how your actions are being perceived by others, too, so that you don't become the annoying one.
Reach the reporter at: arianna.price@asu.edu.
