Woman Records Fellow Plane Passenger Leaning Over Her To Take Pictures Out The Window — 'Do People Not Know Personal Space?'
While some felt the man had the right to enjoy the view, others criticized his behavior and lack of self-awareness.
frantic00 / Shutterstock While a woman was aboard a plane attempting to soak in the view from her window seat, her enjoyment was interrupted by the passenger sitting next to her who also decided to appreciate the view himself — at her expense.
The passenger sitting next to the woman leaned over her repeatedly to take pictures out the window.
It's no secret that many travelers prefer to have a window seat over an aisle while flying. In most cases, the pros outweigh the cons. Having a window seat means that you’ll be better able to sleep during a flight, have extra reading light, and take in the scenery and clouds.
One of the only cons you may experience while flying in a window seat is having to deal with other passengers who also want to enjoy your views.
One woman learned this during her most recent flight while she was seated next to a window.
Sterling secretly recorded the man sitting next to her as he continuously invaded her personal space just to get a few pictures of the window view. As Sterling peered out the window with her headphones over her ears, the man sitting next to her had no problem leaning over her, his hands just inches from her face, as he lifted his cellphone to take pictures.
He didn't stop there. Just when you thought he had enough photos, he started again! While clearly uncomfortable, Sterling had no choice but to look straight ahead and ignore him.
“Do people not know personal space? And that you can choose a window seat?” she wrote in the text overlay of the video.
Other people were just as rattled by the man’s lack of self-awareness.
“I hope someone shows this to him and explains to him how this is crazy!” one TikTok user commented. “I would’ve closed the shade and stared into his soul. We would’ve corrected that behavior before descent,” another user shared. “My anger would never. I would have ended up on the no-fly list once he leaned in for the second picture,” another wrote.
However, others believed that the man was entitled to enjoy the view as much as Sterling was. “Let people enjoy the view as well. As they maybe couldn’t book a window seat or at the check-in all window seats were unavailable,” one user commented.
“I’m all for personal space too but I think he’s adorable taking pictures still,” another user wrote.
He should have respected her personal space or at least asked her for permission to take photos.
Ignorance, however, did not give this passenger the right to invade his seatmate’s personal bubble.
There is an unspoken etiquette while flying that includes never using your seatmate’s shoulder as a pillow or indulging in foods with a strong smell. The same concept applies to seating etiquette.
You are certainly allowed to look out of the plane window even if you are in a middle or aisle seat. You can even politely ask the person sitting by the window if you could snap a few pics.
However, leaning over them repeatedly is inappropriate, and rude and infringes their right to personal space.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.