i’m 45 years old and i can assure you confidently that back in ‘my day’ we did NOT all chat merrily with our seatmates on the bus
people on public transport were as tired and/or obnoxious back then as they are today, and i WISH i could’ve been texting my friends on the way to work in 1990, and i woulda if i coulda
instead we listened to non-rechargable battery powered walkmans and read the newspaper and pretended we didn’t notice the guy next to us leaning in all night train burps and tobacco teeth to ask for a dollar
and unlike you, we didn’t have a way to call the cops if he followed us off the bus
what i’m saying is the mobile phone is a beautiful thing and people who whine about you using it in public are just losers who want attention
godspeed
I’m 42 and will confirm this.
35 and didn’t get a cellphone until late in the game (and took public transit a LOT both prior and after). Can absolutely confirm all of this. I read books, listened to a walkman/mp3 player, and generally dreaded getting one of those obnoxious seatmates who can’t take a hint to shut up and leave someone alone.
I also met my now-husband on the bus to work. Having the option not to talk to strangers on the bus just means that if I decide to talk to someone, it’s my choice.
…Mostly. Except for those obnoxious assholes who still can’t take a hint.