Can we talk about the loud volume on your phone?

You’re in a waiting room. The fan’s whirring. People are fidgeting with newspapers, scrolling their phones, trying to pass time. A man in the corner is quietly talking to his wife. A nurse walks by. And then — without warning — someone hits the play button.

It could be a crime drama, a cricket highlight, a romantic scene, or a viral reel with an unnecessary voiceover. But whatever it is, it’s loud. Louder than it needs to be. Loud enough that everyone else hears it — even if they don’t want to. Maybe — just maybe — it’s you who hit the play button.

Don’t look around. Just pause for a second.

Have you ever streamed something in a mall food court and forgotten the volume was still up? Watched a series at full blast in a train, your earphones ‘accidentally’ in your lap? Played reels in a hospital corridor, temple, airport lounge, or your cousin’s sangeet — even though no one around you signed up for a screening?

It’s become so normal, hasn’t it? You probably didn’t even think about it. After all, you’re just watching a few minutes of content. Everyone’s doing it. No big deal, right?

But here’s the thing — it is a big deal.

Because somewhere along the way, we’ve forgotten that public spaces are shared. That your entertainment, your phone, your mood, doesn’t automatically become everyone else’s business. That other people exist. And deserve not to be interrupted by the running commentary of a prank video or a background track blaring ‘yeh dil maange more’.

Let’s say someone taps your shoulder, and says, “Excuse me, could you please lower the volume?” How would you react? Would you smile and apologise? Or would your eyebrows rise as if someone just insulted your ancestry? Would you say, “It’s just a reel, yaar. Chill.” Maybe you’d mumble something under your breath about people being ‘too sensitive’.

Ask yourself: why is it so hard to accept that we might be bothering someone?

Somewhere between our data packs getting cheaper and our reels getting shorter, we started living in a bubble. One where headphones are too much effort, and the world exists only to accommodate us. Where we don’t think twice about playing videos out loud, because we’re not annoyed. We’ve confused accessibility with entitlement.

Remember when we were told not to watch TV loudly during someone’s nap? Or when guests came over and we were asked to pause the show? That basic idea — that we don’t impose our noise on others — used to be common sense. Now, it feels like an old fable.

Think of the settings again.

An elderly man quietly trying to meditate at the temple, as a ringtone remix blares behind him. A woman in the chemotherapy lounge forced to hear a comedy reel while waiting for her next dose. A teenager studying in a train while the guy next to him watches an action movie without headphones.

It’s not just rude. It’s a kind of emotional deafness. A refusal to acknowledge that others are trying to hold onto a thread of peace, and we just yanked it out of their hands.

And the worst part? We’re no longer embarrassed by it.

We used to lower our voices in public. Now we raise the volume. We used to read. Now we scroll. We used to carry headphones. Now we carry an audience.

Before you say “But everyone does it!” — think back to how you feel when someone else’s phone blares next to you. That irritation? That discomfort? That silent internal scream of “Why can’t they just use headphones?” That’s exactly what others feel when we do it.

We’ve become so busy performing for our own screens that we’ve forgotten how to share space. Maybe it’s the side-effect of living online all the time. We’ve all become the stars of our own show. In that role, we forget that others didn’t audition to be the audience.

Sometimes, it’s not even about arrogance. It’s about escape. From awkward silences. From waiting. From being alone. So, we dive into our phones and forget where we are. But in drowning out our discomfort, we drown others too.

This isn’t about technology. It’s about thoughtfulness.

So, here’s a small ask. The next time you reach for your phone in a public space, ask yourself: Is this the time to broadcast? Or the time to be quietly human?

You don’t need to stop watching content. Just put on earphones. Just be aware. Just remember that not everything in your life needs to be played out loud for the world to hear.

Imagine if each of us wore headphones. Lowered the volume. Took a second to see who’s around before hitting play. The silence we’d create together would speak louder than any reel ever could.

Lowering your volume doesn’t make you invisible. It makes you considerate.

That, in today’s world, is a far more impressive thing to be.

(Srinath Sridharan is a corporate adviser and independent director on corporate boards. X: @ssmumbai.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.