I find human nature particularly confusing.
The boundaries of ‘proper behavior’ and the unspoken guidelines for social situations are among those I find most perplexing.
Humans are weird, but I’ve found that the most unusual snippets into the true human self tend to surface when we collect a cluster of humans together and place them in an uncomfortably stuffy environment.
smelliest man sat next to me on the bus so i kept coughing loads so he would move but instead he asked me for a bit of my drink
— bonnie (@bxnnie_) May 9, 2016
Public transport is a funny world within a funny world in which the consistent caveats of behavior that dominate our relationships, work and home life go totally out of the window.
This discounted and environmentally friendly form of travel provides a rich sensory experience with an abundance of characters to encounter and emotions to experience. In short, it provides excellent material for a Twitter rant.
Suddenly, a daily commute can turn into an epicenter of social-media activity, and our research incorporates 65,000 mentions from a one-month period of people talking about what happens on their journeys.
Geo-tagged tweets show that strong patterns of tweeting on trains, buses and subways are a universal occurrence for American and British tweeters.
One of those patterns is the streak of mischief and spite that public transport can bring out in people.
“On the subway today…”
Upon taking your seat on a bus, you enter a realm unlike any other. Being on public transport involves a dangerous concoction of being alone whilst simultaneously being observed.
It might seem like everyone else is looking out the window, but you are being watched. And probably live streamed.
It would be fair to say that we are at our most judgmental during our commutes, as the data shows that even seemingly innocent acts such as eating or reading appear more frequently than more unhygienic public transport activities like coughing and sneezing.
Try to avoid choosing the wrong clothes or smelling bad if you want to escape being blasted on Twitter.
It is unsurprising that, aside from humans doing fairly normal things like eating and wearing clothes, we also come across a huge amount of befuddling behavior making an appearance on subway carriages and alike.
I bet you can’t count on hands and feet the amount of times you’ve heard stories starting with ‘on the bus today’ – be they confusing, brave or downright ridiculous.
This guy on the bus has a Python in his coat …. WTFFF 😭
— Cierra Entwistle (@EntwistleCierra) May 11, 2016
On public transport the regular becomes irregular to the point that the simplest of things like eating or breathing become totally unacceptable.
Riding on public transport is none of our favorite pastimes. The most confusing social parameters combined with a heightened right to judge is a recipe for disaster – but it doesn’t half provide some cracking content.
Seen a guy on the bus give up his seat for a girl, she didnt say thank you or even acknowledge dude. He made her get up & took his seat back
— Project Pat (@Miami_boy21) March 2, 2016
So why not throw caution to the wind with these rules? Put your stinky feet up on the chair or start an argument with a stranger – because in this odd place called public transport, you’ll probably end up on Twitter anyway.
In the nicest way possible this lady on the train smells like a hamsters cage
— caitlin (@caitlingrma) May 9, 2016
The bald guy sitting next to me on the bus smells like hair care products. Life never ceases to be a mystery.
— Purld (@Purld) July 7, 2011
You’re safest on the bus
Interestingly, mentions of the subway within our research showed that they were nearly as high as train mentions despite often weaker internet signal.
The tube, Britain’s version of the subway, had the lowest number of tweets, while buses also had a fairly low number compared to subways and trains.
It’s not all bad
You’ll find some real characters on public transport, from the weird to the wonderful. To the unsung heroes making those tough commutes just a little bit brighter, we’re really glad you exist.
Cross-posted from Brandwatch.