Bare beating was one of the biggest gripes commuters had in 2025 – and rightly so.
For those unaware, this was a term Metro coined for those who listen to music without headphones on public transport, or have entire phone calls on speakerphone so the whole bus or Tube carriage can hear.
But what exactly do they get out of it? Metro spoke to some of the culprits to find out why they commit this heinous act. Unsurprisingly, they all asked to remain anonymous and unpictured.
Ryan Barclay, 26, from Glasgow, tells Metro that being aware of your surroundings for passenger information announcements is a 'valid reason' to listen to TV shows or podcasts without headphones.
He regularly listens to podcasts on public transport without headphones for this reason, but also because he thinks 'headphones can be insular' and 'isolating', preventing you from striking up random conversations with fellow passengers about what you're listening to.
Šarūnas Bružas, the co-founder and CEO of Desktronic, admitted to playing audio on his phone without headphones, but says he only does this 'at a low volume'.
'This usually happens when my headphones die mid-commute, or I forget them at home,' he said. 'During a recent train ride, my phone was at 8% battery, and turning on my Bluetooth would have further drained my battery. I needed my phone to reply to work matters, so I kept the volume just loud enough for me to hear while holding the phone close.'
Šarūnas, from Lithuania, added: 'I keep it low enough that the train's noise mostly covered it, and angled the speaker towards me to ensure I didn't bother the people around me.'
Sophie, a journalist from London, admits to doing something similar when she finds herself without her headphones. 'I turn up the volume to one and hold my phone close to my ear like I'm on a call,' she explains.
Clare Patterson, a psychotherapist and member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, tells Metro that this sort of behaviour feels like a 'cry for attention' to her.
She explains: 'People with looser boundaries tend to seek to have their needs met through spilling out into others' personal space. This is nearly always a cry for attention, or desire to be seen, and they go about this in a roundabout way rather than directly striking up a conversation with someone in a more socially appropriate manner.'
Tom, a fellow Londoner who works in social media, admits he sometimes 'accidentally' plays things out loud on the Tube.
'I think my Bluetooth and headphones are connected and maybe just not working properly, but it turns out I was actually blasting it on my phone at full volume and just thought I was hearing it through my headphones,' he tells us. 'I was once sitting there doing it for a good 30 to 45 minutes, too.'
On social media, a few anonymous commuters have blamed Apple for their inability to use headphones, because, naturally, it would be anyone else's fault but their own. They claim it's because newer iPhones no longer come with headphone jacks and wireless earbuds are 'too expensive', so they just make do without.
Transport for London encourages headphone use on Tubes and buses around the city, as not using them can create an 'unpleasant or even stressful environment for others'. TfL launched a campaign earlier this year, urging passengers to be more considerate when travelling and wear headphones.
Their research found that 70% of passengers think loud music and phone conversations without headphones are disruptive.