Is it a little noisy in here??

[Daisy Buchanan]

I've noticed more recently that it seems that the world is getting louder.
I feel like when I watch a tv commercial I'm being shouted at to buy a product. One really annoying one is by Pepto Bismol. They have this horrible rap song about heartburn, indigestion, and the other ailments cured by this medication, and it's being screamed across the telly by oversized robots that are trampling a city or by a "crew" of guys dressed like a too old version of the Beastie Boys. Stores like Old Navy and The Gap are other examples of stores that are trying to shout their message to you.
While shopping in the mall today, all I wanted to do was get to the stores I needed to buy from and get out. Walking through the mall proved to be a challenge. It was like walking through a maze of people who weren't interested in actually making it to their destination, strolling aimlessly and shouting on their cell phones. When finally getting into Macy's, I looked around and everywhere I turned was some person yapping away. They had no idea how loud they were talking, and they didn't seem to care. Then I realize that the store itself was adding to my headache by blaring loud music through their overhead speakers. I couldn't think, I had to get out of there.
When leaving the mall I had to go out through Best Buy. I pushed and shoved my way through aimless wanderers on their cell phones. I have no idea how they had any conversation at all, for the store had their overhead speakers on at full blast along with every speaker in the stereo section blaring. I really had to get out of there!
Maybe this was all noticeable to me because I had just had lunch with a friend and we were surrounded by the loudest of diners. I noticed the couple next to me, although dining with one another, they must not have enjoyed each others company that much, for they were each speaking to someone else via cell phone. Another table was two moms with two young kids about 4 years old. The moms sat and ate and talked not even paying attention to the tantrums that the two kids were having. They weren't sitting down, they were chasing each other around, screaming and yelling. I understand that moms put up with a lot and they must become accustomed to all the noise that a child brings with it when it enters the world. But, I don't see how hard it would be to sit that child down in a restaurant and teach it how to use it's indoor voice! If it doesn't learn these simple manners now, it's only going to get worse. I don't know if the moms just gave up trying to control their bratty kids, or if they just didn't care. Either way, I wish they had done something to try and quiet them down. It was really disturbing and rude.
Well, it was a very noisy day, from annoying TV and radio salesmen shouting at me to buy their products, to stores blaring the loudest and the worst of music to people screaming on their cell phones and diners letting their kids run wild in a restaurant, I realized that the world is becoming very noisy. Shopping during the holiday's was never a peaceful experience, but it would be nice to go into a store and be able to think!
Anyone else notice how noisy it is out there??

 

[moustache]

Indeed!

I've noticed more recently that it seems that the world is getting louder.
I feel like when I watch a tv commercial I'm being shouted at to buy a product. One really annoying one is by Pepto Bismol. They have this horrible rap song about heartburn, indigestion, and the other ailments cured by this medication, and it's being screamed across the telly by oversized robots that are trampling a city or by a "crew" of guys dressed like a too old version of the Beastie Boys. Stores like Old Navy and The Gap are other examples of stores that are trying to shout their message to you.
While shopping in the mall today, all I wanted to do was get to the stores I needed to buy from and get out. Walking through the mall proved to be a challenge. It was like walking through a maze of people who weren't interested in actually making it to their destination, strolling aimlessly and shouting on their cell phones. When finally getting into Macy's, I looked around and everywhere I turned was some person yapping away. They had no idea how loud they were talking, and they didn't seem to care. Then I realize that the store itself was adding to my headache by blaring loud music through their overhead speakers. I couldn't think, I had to get out of there.
When leaving the mall I had to go out through Best Buy. I pushed and shoved my way through aimless wanderers on their cell phones. I have no idea how they had any conversation at all, for the store had their overhead speakers on at full blast along with every speaker in the stereo section blaring. I really had to get out of there!
Maybe this was all noticeable to me because I had just had lunch with a friend and we were surrounded by the loudest of diners. I noticed the couple next to me, although dining with one another, they must not have enjoyed each others company that much, for they were each speaking to someone else via cell phone. Another table was two moms with two young kids about 4 years old. The moms sat and ate and talked not even paying attention to the tantrums that the two kids were having. They weren't sitting down, they were chasing each other around, screaming and yelling. I understand that moms put up with a lot and they must become accustomed to all the noise that a child brings with it when it enters the world. But, I don't see how hard it would be to sit that child down in a restaurant and teach it how to use it's indoor voice! If it doesn't learn these simple manners now, it's only going to get worse. I don't know if the moms just gave up trying to control their bratty kids, or if they just didn't care. Either way, I wish they had done something to try and quiet them down. It was really disturbing and rude.
Well, it was a very noisy day, from annoying TV and radio salesmen shouting at me to buy their products, to stores blaring the loudest and the worst of music to people screaming on their cell phones and diners letting their kids run wild in a restaurant, I realized that the world is becoming very noisy. Shopping during the holiday's was never a peaceful experience, but it would be nice to go into a store and be able to think!
Anyone else notice how noisy it is out there??

I agree with Daisy!!!!


JD

 

[BonnieJean]

I agree

Daisy,
I agree, the world does seem to be a bit louder these days. And with the holidays, the noise seems louder than ever. I have fibromyalgia and there are days when everything seems loud--even normal conversation. And some days lights will really bother me. I had read this could be a side effect of my disease. But I can relate to you because I have actually fled a store because of sensory overload and I love to shop! I try to avoid crowded stores and places when I'm more "sensitive". But its getting harder and harder to find quiet places anymore. Even in the upscale restaurants, there's still a lot of chatter with cell phones. I think people don't realize they talk louder when using a cell phone. I caught myself doing that once. I try not to talk on mine in public if possible.

Maybe someone will have some ideas on how to curb the ever-growing noise pollution around us. They have smoking/non-smoking sections in places, why not have a quiet section?

 

[Nick Charles]

YEEEEP. I did almost all my shopping online this year. I hate people and they are always in a hurry or more important that you. I was at the Frys grocery store last week at 10 pm and some daffy lady was complaining that she couldn;t see the produce because of the energy saving lights that come on at 9, needless to say she didn;t just say that and leave she had to continue to assert her dismay even though she had paid and her husband was already on his way to the car. I just laughed to myself and waited.. lol

(I dont even think she knew she was yelling)

 

[Lady Day]

Thats why I tend to wear my iPod everywhere I go. At least then I can control the noise going into my head instead of hearing bits of droning about,

"I cant believe she said that..." "Yeah it hurts my foot..." "She said she didnt likehim..." "Im standing in line, what are you doing?"

*yuck*

LD

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Thats why I tend to wear my iPod everywhere I go. At least then I can control the noise going into my head instead of hearing bits of droning about,

"I cant believe she said that..." "Yeah it hurts my foot..." "She said she didnt likehim..." "Im standing in line, what are you doing?"

*yuck*

LD

EXACTLY (daisy shouts)!!!!!
I think that's a grand idea, to wear an iPod when you go out. I don't know why I didn't think of that!
Also, online shopping, I think that's wear I'm gonna do the rest of my holiday shopping.

It's so sad, but I first started really noticing all of the noise while spending Thanksgiving with my sister, brother-in-law and their 2 year old son. OMG, they are sooooooo loud. Not only do they scream with all of their mite but they don't listen either. You can sit down and start a conversation with them, and it's guaranteed that you will be interrupted by one of them, starting a new conversation totally off topic. It's so frustrating to have to hear them yap away so loudly, but to also know that you are not being listened to. At the end of the day, on our way home, my ears were ringing. I was speaking to my dad a few day's later, he had to deal with the three of them for the whole weekend. I brought up this boisterous behavior and asked him what he thought about it. He informed me that he was going nuts. Everything that they do is just so incredibly loud. I told him that they were family, and family is allowed to inform other members of the family when their behavior is less than desirable. I think it's perfectly fine to inform the three of them that they are just too darn loud. Someone needs to teach them about "indoor voices". I just know my nephew is gonna be one loud kid. He's already starting to have tantrums, as all 2 year olds do. But when he doesn't get what he wants he shouts even louder. I really wish you all could hear how loud they can be, it's really unbelievable!

You all bring up great points. I thought that maybe I was just being over sensitive, more readily annoyed due to the crowds and the pain of holiday shopping. But now I hear others having the same issues, and it makes me feel a little better that I'm not just being a big baby or a grump.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Huh??

 

[Senator Jack]

For years I've been walking out of stores that insist on playing annoying music at top volume, but lately, it's got worse. My friends now routinely drag me to restaurants that are blasting either hip-hop or Danzig. (Danzig has his place, of course, he's just not what I'd consider 'dinner music'.) No one but me seems to understand that loud, thumping music isn't exactly eupeptic.

When I read 'The Highly Sensitive Person' I understood my problem: some of us just become more overloaded than others. The book really didn't help me cope with the situation (the world would have to accomodate me for that) but I did find it interesting to learn that 95% of the public needs constant input to feel alive.

Here's the site: http://www.hsperson.com/

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Brooksie]

Yes, the world is getting loud, I can not hear what anybody is saying anymore these day's. I think I am going deaf!!!

Brooksie

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Commercial noise.

Is odious to say the least. And it seems to be getting more prevalent and obnoxious all the time. Better technology coupled with corporate greed yields idiotic intrusive noise of epic proportions.
The scary part is that maybe this mass media onslaught seems to be really working on the majority of people, causing them to part with their "disposable" income more readily at retail stores. They are being brainwashed,... ,....or maybe I'm just paranoid today?

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

What is interesting is that the "world is getting louder" concerns have been voiced ever since the Victorian era.

What I think is even more interesting is how people seem unnerved by quiet and tranquility. Every restaurant has a TV in it, music playing, or usually both. Stores all have music playing, often annoyingly loud, bad music.

There are places that I can't stand to shop in, and I can't imagine how people could possibly work there.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I did find it interesting to learn that 95% of the public needs constant input to feel alive.


Regards,

Senator Jack

95% !? No wonder I feel out of it all the time. I need about 95% silence and serenity to feel alive! Story of my life,...out of step with the rest of society.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

What is interesting is that the "world is getting louder" concerns have been voiced ever since the Victorian era.

What I think is even more interesting is how people seem unnerved by quiet and tranquility. Every restaurant has a TV in it, music playing, or usually both. Stores all have music playing, often annoyingly loud, bad music.

There are places that I can't stand to shop in, and I can't imagine how people could possibly work there.

Obnoxious music at uncomfortable levels is a psychological trick that restaurants like Friday's use to hustle people in and out, to generate more money.

 

[atomicfabulous]

What happened to saying no to kids and meaning it. I was in Target and witnessed a three year old argue with his mother about getting a toy. Instead of just telling him no, she told him that if he got it now, he would get another one for Christmas. She just kept saying that each time he screamed "I want it now!!!!" Spoiled brat! My parents said no all the time until I just didn't ask for stuff and I realized I was being given more than I needed.
Good rant Daisy!

 

[Barbigirl]

*

I have been whining about the noise to of life to people for the last couple of years. I even went so far as to complain to the store manager at a Fry's electronics store that I had to leave without buying anything because of the video sounds, the music department sounds, the electric piano playing and the overhead speaker music all going on at the same time.

It makes me feel like running out of the store screaming with my hands over my ears...which would help the noise problem but at least then I would only hear one thing.

Add the people who stop walking right in the middle of a walkway and you have a recipe for Barbi going postal.

 

[Hawkcigar]

Count me among those annoyed by all the noise. It really is sensory overload. Cell phone conversations, unruly kids, loud music everywhere you go. It seems as though the cell phones have kind of isolated the ones who are talking on them. They get so focused on the conversation that they don't even realize how loud they are or what they are saying. The thing that really bothers me is that it is quickly becoming accepted behavior.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Ever consider it's a combination of things? Could it be that not only is it getting louder out there (but not as loud as we think), could it also be that it is us that are getting older in here (not as young as we think)? I know that when I listen to music I listened to 20 years ago, it sure has to be turned DOWN a lot more than it used to be!

Just an observation.

 

[Lady Day]

Yes, the world is getting loud, I can not hear what anybody is saying anymore these day's. I think I am going deaf!!!

Brooksie

Thats why everyone Text Messages :rage:

Oh the IRONY!!!

LD
lol

 

[Lady Day]

What I think is even more interesting is how people seem unnerved by quiet and tranquility. Every restaurant has a TV in it, music playing, or usually both. Stores all have music playing, often annoyingly loud, bad music.

I refuse to eat a sit down meal in a place with a TV. Nope, will not do it.

I worked in a retail store that did the loud music and flashing sights. You zone it out, just like the shoppers.

The strange thing is, when I do watch TV and a commercial is on that does not make a sound for more than 5 seconds, I look up from what I am doing to see what is going on. You think advertisers would take note with that.

Lately I have not been in the mood for music. Im just doing what I am doing in the quiet of background noise (car horns, shouting outside people, fire engines...). Its quiet (in citay standards) and I like it. I can hear my doggie sigh in her sleep as she dreams Get the ball, Georgia, get it girl!

LD

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Add the people who stop walking right in the middle of a walkway and you have a recipe for Barbi going postal.

Argh, that drives me nuts. Your trying to get out of that noisy mall as fast as possible and some jerk in a cell phone trance completely walks right in front of you at a snails pace. You try your darndest to get around him, but it's crowded and theirs no way out. I find myself clenching my fists in these situations. Oops man, sorry, didn't mean to give your shoe a flat tire..... I have "accidentally" bumped into such people, given them a harmless nudge. Hey, it's a crowded mall, people get bumped around a bit in a crowd.

I refuse to eat a sit down meal in a place with a TV. Nope, will not do it.

I worked in a retail store that did the loud music and flashing sights. You zone it out, just like the shoppers.

The strange thing is, when I do watch TV and a commercial is on that does not make a sound for more than 5 seconds, I look up from what I am doing to see what is going on. You think advertisers would take note with that.

Lately I have not been in the mood for music. Im just doing what I am doing in the quiet of background noise (car horns, shouting outside people, fire engines...). Its quiet (in citay standards) and I like it. I can hear my doggie sigh in her sleep as she dreams Get the ball, Georgia, get it girl!

LD

It's funny that you bring up citay noises. Here I am complaining about all of the commotion going on around me, being tossed in my face, people shouting "BUY THIS, IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE" bull. However I have lived in the city for 10 years. The train goes by every five minutes, fire trucks, ambulances (I live next to a hospital), police cars, horns honking, the sound of cars on the road, these are all noises that are a constant in my life, and they don't bother me at all. When I go back to my parents quiet house in Providence, I can't sleep, it's just too darn quiet (except when my sister and her family are there). But, these are noises that I chose to live with when I bought my home. Walking into Best Buy to buy a camera and having the latest and greatest one hit wonder blared through one set of speakers, and some other non-sensical bad boy band blaring in another set, now that's infuriating. Your there to buy a camera or some other electronic device. You are making an investment, so the purchase needs time and a bit of brain function. I'm just using the camera as an example because I went through this recently at this particular store. They had overhead speakers directly above the camera section, blasting some
g-d awful new hit. I'm about to spend some money, this is stressful enough. I can't find a single sales person to help me out, and when you finally do the only help they want to give you is instructions on how to swipe your credit card through the nifty little machines that they have, or maybe he'll actually put that camera in a bag for you. You're looking at the fifty different camera options they have. You've done your research but can't find the ones you saw online in the store. You just need to think, but you can't do that, the store doesn't want you to. But in the end it's their loss because you walk out empty handed vowing to never go back in that store unless dragged by your fingernails, and you buy a very nice camera at amazon.com from the comfort of your own bed while listening to some Mozart softly playing over the small speakers on your laptop. AAAHHHHH, that felt great, thanks for letting me vent, again!!

LadyDay, isn't it the sweetest thing to hear a dog dream? Oh how I miss that! Hem's dog, who was also my dog by default, would make the sweetest dream noises. It was liked this high pitched yet soft howly bark. She'd also move her little legs like she was running in her sleep. I just know she was dreaming about chasing bunnies! That is one noise that never bothered me! I truly cherish the memory of it. My kitties snore, I think it's because they're so plump. It's a sweet noise, but it can't beat puppy dreams.