No one ever really warns you about the fact that being “an adult” comes with a subscription to constant low-level irritation. It is not big enough to warrant taking your time to protest about, but annoying enough to slowly erode your whole soul. You don’t complain about it because it feels like it would be way too petty, way too small, and, quite frankly, “not worth it,” therefore, you swallow it every single day.
There will be something from someone chewing too loudly to pointless meetings that don’t really ruin your life, but continue to eat away at your sanity. You notice it, you hate it, and yet you continue to put up with them as if it were part of the deal.
Loud Phone Calls In Public
There’s always going to be that one dude on the bus/cafe/waiting room who thinks he is in the best possible position to air his personal podcast. They aren’t even shy about it; they just turn their speaker on full blast with ZERO awareness. Now you are privy to their relationship drama, appointment with the dentist, and the spat they had with Sharon in HR.
And what can you do about it? You don’t bother to say anything. That would mean confronting them, and that is simply too exhausting, so you sit there nodding politely and absorbing all of the secondhand stress that you didn’t sign up for. Although it is not illegal, it should come with a fine and a mandatory self-awareness class.
People Who Walk Slowly in Busy Spaces
The thing is, it is not illegal to walk slowly in busy spaces, but still, it is harder to forgive. There is just something irritating about them that tests the limits of even the calmest human’s patience. They just drift around and stop suddenly as they please and block the entire pathways with zero urgency.
While you would want to scream at them, “Get Out Of My Way!” You just shuffle behind them like you are being held hostage by politeness. Society has agreed that saying something would be rude, so we all just suffer in silence and arrive at our destinations a little more annoyed than necessary.
Apps Asking for Tips for Doing Nothing
Okay, this one? This one doesn’t even make sense. These screens at the self-checkouts are like, “Do you want to leave us a tip?” Oh yeah? What for? For being here? For emotional support? For existing?
But then comes the guilt of pressing “no tip,” it’s like you have just insulted someone’s entire family lineage. No one bothers to explain where the money goes, where this money came from, and why we continue to tip on transactions where we didn’t even deal with actual humans. We just sigh and loathe capitalism with each click.
Meetings That Could’ve Been an Email
You come to participate in a meeting, yet most likely, by the time it’s over, there will be nine out of ten things that could have been sent as an email. You attend, listen, and say nothing. Mostly, you experience background noise as someone speaks, while others repeat things that were already stated.
When the meeting is over, the only thing that anyone seems to have done during that time is to say, “Great discussion,” and you feel your soul leave your body. You lost productive energy, focus, and time for what… so that you can know one new stupid thing?
Constant Background Noise Everywhere
Have you ever noticed how noisier everything is now than it used to be? Restaurants and cafes have been full of loud, obnoxious music, people talking loudly, notifications on someone’s phone chiming constantly, and machines beeping for no apparent reason. Silence has almost become a suspect.
We tolerate all this because of the perception that people who are being loud represent the height of productivity. But sometimes we all just want a little bit of peace and quiet to think without a remix of someone else’s playlist blasting into our nervous system.
People Who Refuse to Read the Room
They frequently share too much information and make inappropriate jokes at the wrong time. They keep talking when the vibe is clearly dead. We all have a friend or family member who displays this behavior, and we put up with them because it feels mean-spirited to try to help them better understand the social nuances surrounding them.
Instead, we give them a head nod or a smirk while silently praying for the conversation to end. This becomes exhausting when you have to help someone else understand how oblivious they are, and at the same time feel as though you’re pretending everything is perfectly fine.
People Who Don’t Respect Queues
They pretend not to notice the line; instead, they hover around it. They cut in line “just to ask one question” and are typically the first individuals to receive service. You, along with everyone else, notice it; however, no one has dared to say anything because calling it out feels awkward.
Therefore, you continue to stand there with a smile on your face, feeling irritated, and trying to comprehend why the basic concept of waiting in line is no longer an expected norm, while everyone else feels free to do as they wish with little regard to any type of social norms.
Being Expected to Be Available All the Time
All day long, we’re in a constant barrage of messages, emails, notifications, and read receipts. We feel a silent pressure to respond to the messages as quickly as possible, because if we don’t, we’ll seem lazy, unprofessional, or rude. We accept this pressure, as we now feel “rebellious” by disconnecting from our devices when we should be resting.
So, you’re “always reachable,” but never fully present in the moment. Nobody has asked for it, but here we are – exhausted, looking at our smartphones, and pretending that everything is fine, when nothing is.
17 Signs Someone Was Raised With Poor Manners
Manners matter more than you think. And sometimes, the lack of them shows up in the subtlest (and most cringe-worthy) ways. If you spot these 17 signs, there’s a good chance someone didn’t get the “how to be a decent human” crash course growing up.
17 Signs Someone Was Raised With Poor Manners