Cursing out loud. Pets in the produce aisle. Which public behaviors do you find rude?
Around a third of Americans (34%) say they almost always or often see people behaving rudely when they go out in public these days. But what’s considered rude by one person may be seen as acceptable by another.
Which kinds of public behavior do you see as rude or acceptable?
Recently, we asked a representative sample of 9,609 U.S. adults about eight behaviors they might encounter while out and about. We found that Americans’ views of these behaviors vary, especially by age.
Answer the following questions to find out how your views of various public behaviors compare with the attitudes of other people your age, as well as people in other age groups.
Bad words, spoken and written
Choose your age group to continue
18-29
30-49
50-64
65+
Prefer not to say
Question 1 of 8
Do you think visibly displaying swear words (such as on a T-shirt or sign) in public is …
Always acceptable
Usually acceptable
Sometimes acceptable
Rarely acceptable
Never acceptable
% of who say this is ____ acceptable
The smaller dials show responses among people in other age groups.
ALL AGE GROUPS
Question 2 of 8
Do you think cursing out loud is …
Always acceptable
Usually acceptable
Sometimes acceptable
Rarely acceptable
Never acceptable
% of who say this is ____ acceptable
The smaller dials show responses among people in other age groups.
ALL AGE GROUPS
Age isn’t the only factor when it comes to Americans’ attitudes about various public behaviors. People who live in urban areas, for example, are a bit more tolerant of audible profanity than their suburban and rural counterparts. 17% of adults who live in urban communities say it’s always or usually acceptable to curse out loud. Fewer adults in suburban and rural areas say this (12% in each).
Music – in your ears or out in the world
Question 3 of 8
Do you think wearing headphones or earbuds while talking to someone in person (for example, a shopkeeper) is …
Always acceptable
Usually acceptable
Sometimes acceptable
Rarely acceptable
Never acceptable
% of who say this is ____ acceptable
The smaller dials show responses among people in other age groups.
ALL AGE GROUPS
Question 4 of 8
Do you think playing music out loud in public is …
Always acceptable
Usually acceptable
Sometimes acceptable
Rarely acceptable
Never acceptable
% of who say this is ____ acceptable
The smaller dials show responses among people in other age groups.
ALL AGE GROUPS
Americans’ attitudes about playing music out loud differ somewhat by education in addition to age. Americans without a college degree are about twice as likely as college grads (11% vs. 5%) to say it’s always or usually acceptable to play music out loud.
Kids, pets and where (not) to bring them
Question 5 of 8
Do you think bringing a child into a place that’s typically for adults (for example, a bar or upscale restaurant) is …
Always acceptable
Usually acceptable
Sometimes acceptable
Rarely acceptable
Never acceptable
% of who say this is ____ acceptable
The smaller dials show responses among people in other age groups.
ALL AGE GROUPS
Question 6 of 8
Do you think bringing a pet into an indoor space (like a grocery store or shop) is …
Always acceptable
Usually acceptable
Sometimes acceptable
Rarely acceptable
Never acceptable
% of who say this is ____ acceptable
The smaller dials show responses among people in other age groups.
ALL AGE GROUPS
Young men are relatively accepting of taking a pet shopping. Nearly a quarter (23%) of men under 30 say it’s always or usually acceptable to do so, versus 16% of women in the same age group. In fact, the 18-to-29 age group is the only one where men are more accepting of this behavior than women.
Smoking and taking pictures
Question 7 of 8
Do you think smoking around other people in public is …
Always acceptable
Usually acceptable
Sometimes acceptable
Rarely acceptable
Never acceptable
% of who say this is ____ acceptable
The smaller dials show responses among people in other age groups.
ALL AGE GROUPS
Question 8 of 8
Do you think taking a photo or video of someone in public without asking for permission is …
Always acceptable
Usually acceptable
Sometimes acceptable
Rarely acceptable
Never acceptable
% of who say this is ____ acceptable
The smaller dials show responses among people in other age groups.
ALL AGE GROUPS
Keep your smoke – and your camera – out of my face! The two behaviors most commonly seen as unacceptable are smoking around other people and photographing or videoing people without their permission. In both cases, around three-quarters of U.S. adults say the behaviors are rarely or never acceptable.
How your opinions on what’s acceptable in public compare to others in your age group
% of who say this is ___ acceptable
Visibly displaying swear words
Cursing in public
Wearing headphones or earbuds while talking to someone
Playing music out loud
Bringing a child into a place typically for adults
Bringing a pet into an indoor space
Smoking around other people
Taking a photo or video of someone without asking
To learn more about Americans’ views of behavior in public, read our blog post.
Acknowledgments
Editorial
John Gramlich, Associate Director
Drew DeSilver, Senior Writer
Rebecca Leppert, Editorial Specialist
Anna Jackson, Editorial Assistant
Mia Hennen, Editorial Assistant
Communications and web publishing
Chris Baronavski, Lead Engineer
Alissa Scheller, Senior Information Graphics Designer
Beshay Sakla, Associate Digital Producer