Watching Graphic Videos in my car – obnoxious and inappropriate

It’s bad enough that I have to listen to obnoxiously loud ringtones on passenger’s phones and content with the speakerphone volume turned all the way up, but there have been several people who thought it was ok to watch inappropriate content on their phones. These are the same type of people that think nothing of dropping f-bombs and other foul language when talking on their phones in my car.

In one instance on a shared ride from Center City way out to the fringes of West Philly a guy sat in the front passenger seat watching Youtube videos on speakerphone while his older family member (mother?) sat quietly in the back seat. Several other passengers had been picked up and dropped off along the way. Half-way through the trip the guy starting watching a Youtube video interview of a male pornstar with graphic conversation. This went on for about 5-10 minutes. At least he had some sense to turn it down when I picked up two more passengers, a woman and her young child, who sat in the back seat. Not long after that, he struck up a conversation with his mother in the back seat and started using foul language. At least the mother had some sense too when she told him not to use that language since there was a child in the back seat. I’m not one to get involved in correcting what people say in my car or prohibiting what they watch on their phones. I don’t want to get into arguments with passengers. But, it’s sad that there are more than a handful of people who have no clue as to what is appropriate or not.

The next case is that of a 20-something year old mother with her toddler who sat right behind the driver’s seat. The child was sitting on her lap during the ride when I heard the videos the mother was watching of girls who were fighting in the street and using foul language. I just couldn’t believe that a mother would not be concerned with her child hearing/seeing such graphic violence. There is no doubt that that child is subjected to such content routinely and will most likely be desensitized to violence. It’s sad that this cycle will continue with a mother who sees nothing wrong with subjecting children to this kind of violence. I just shook my head in disbelief as I listened to the video.