Do you eavesdrop on conversations on the bus/train/subway/plane? (business, feel)

[Trimac20]

The thread 'do you ever watch people' got me thinking:

Do you ever eavesdrop on conversations other passengers are having on transport?

I used to do that sometimes while on the bus...maybe I find it hard to tune out, maybe I was bored. But say, two people sitting in the seat in front of me or something. Sometimes I don't consciously do it, but it's weird when you sort of become a passive 'participant' in someone else's conversation.

[foma]

I do that sometimes. It's not always easy to tune people out who are near you. People also have interesting conversations. There's also people who are really loud and want others to listen to their conversation. I think it's just human nature for some people. If someone has never done it before, I'd think they were lying.

[silverbelles]

Every once in a while. I usually have my headphone in or if I don't feel like listening to music that day, then I'll just zone out and think about all the stuff I need to do that day. Though sometimes, there are some super interesting conversations going on.

[Clintone]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

The thread 'do you ever watch people' got me thinking:

Do you ever eavesdrop on conversations other passengers are having on transport?

I used to do that sometimes while on the bus...maybe I find it hard to tune out, maybe I was bored. But say, two people sitting in the seat in front of me or something. Sometimes I don't consciously do it, but it's weird when you sort of become a passive 'participant' in someone else's conversation.

Oh, I consciously eavesdrop I spend zero effort trying to tune anything out whatsoever

[Angelcake4]

Yes, I do listen, but usually regret it.

I was thinking the other day, jumping into any mid-conversation always makes it seem frivolous. I'm sure some of these are great conversations, but they always sound silly when you hear just one piece.

One of these days I'll catch something really juicy.

[malamute]

Yes, I don't see any reason to actively try to tune out conversations going on around me. Once in a while it's an interesting conversation, usually not especially but I'm not going to put my hands to my ears to avoid hearing it.

[Chava61]

Today with people speaking on their cellphones loudly in public places, it is quite hard to avoid hearing conversations even if one wants to.

[berkeleylake]

It depends on the conversation they are having. If it a topic I find usually very dull, I tune it out.

[robertpolyglot]

Yes, if you're not reading something or listening to music, how can you avoid it? Ditto for airports.

[Thursday007]

This is a pet peeve of mine to a high degree. I cannot stand, standing in line in a grocery store or somewhere, and listen to someone loudly talk on their cell phone about all the details of their life and business. I don't want to know about this stuff - shut up. It ruins my thinking time. It's just irritating as hell.