COLOMBO : I drew inspiration for this article from one of my colleagues at work who regularly travels by public transport. As he explained his many woes of using buses and trains, he unraveled yet another misdeed that many of us are probably guilty of in our evergreen land of Sri Lanka; ‘peeping and snooping’. If you have done any of the following, you are clearly guilty of peeping and snooping and some remedial action is in order.
Peeping comes in many forms and shapes, here is how it happens in public transport:
01.Glancing at the neighbour’s mobile phone screen or even worse, continuously looking at it
02.Trying to poke your head into the video call that your neighbour in the bus/ train has taken
03.Trying to read the paper/ book that is in the hands of the person seated next to you
04.Looking into his/ her bag as s/he rummages in it to find something
05.Repeatedly looking at the people who are seated next to you (I believe this especially happens to young couples who get into buses/ trains)
Snooping is about not minding your own business, here is how people snoop in public transport:
01.Eavesdropping on telephone conversations (when you can’t stop giggling it is a dead give away that you had been paying close attention to the other person’s conversation)
02.Trying to have a discussion about what your neighbour is reading in the papers
03.Trying to barge in on conversations that two other people in the bus/ train are trying to have
If the person next to you had to turn towards the window and crane his or her neck outside to be in peace while traveling, you may be sure that you have either been peeping or snooping. Get accustomed to having your own entertainment or ways of spending time without poking your nose into the lives of other people. If you are really bored, without being a creep, try to initiate a sensible conversation with your neighbour, provided s/he is not occupied. Soon I will list out some tips on how to strike conversations with strangers without looking like a complete freak. Until then, please don’t add to the sorrows of those people who are harassed by the noise, constant braking, poor driving and delays of Sri Lankan transport – instead, ride happily with your own book, paper or music and stop being a nuisance.
Till I return with ‘Full of Etiquette’ next week, stay safe!
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Praveeni Jayasekera is the Founder and Editor of fullofetiquette.com; she is a regular advocate on the subject. She is an ACMA, CGMA; holds a BSc. Economics and Management; PG in IT and Diploma in Social Sciences. She is employed full time in the capacity of Chief Operating Officer at CL Synergy (Private) Limited; a Sri Lankan freight forwarding company. She is an ardent fan of the written word and has compiled content for numerous websites for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes, corporate profiles and blogs. She has experience in training corporate professionals on customer service and business etiquette. She conducts coaching sessions on etiquette for school children every now and then.
