Bad Beach Behavior: Are You Guilty?
Annoyed by speakers blasting and sand flying when you’re trying to enjoy a day at the beach? Turns out your fellow sunbathers are more aware of their indiscretions than you may think. Beach.com asked over 1,000 U.S. beachgoers to admit their biggest breaches of beach etiquette. Do any of your seaside habits make the list?
-
Top Breaches of Beach Etiquette
- Peeing in the water (70.12%)
- Drinking alcohol (48.61%)
- Taking sand or seashells (38.15%)
- Taking too long in the beach facilities (31.31%)
- Playing loud music (29.58%)
-
- Not picking up after pets (26.73%)
- Littering (25.20%)
- Smoking or vaping (24.80%)
- Feeding wildlife (22.61%)
- Sitting too close (16.53%)
The study is broken down by percentage of participants who responded “yes” to breaking these unspoken beach rules. Of the beachgoers included in the survey, the top five self-admitted bad behaviors were:
When asked which bad behaviors they suspected their fellow beachgoing Americans were getting away with most often, respondents had a startlingly accurate perception. Over 80% of respondents suspected others on the beach of peeing in the water, over 60% suspected them of drinking alcohol, and about 64% suspected them of taking sand or seashells.
Rounding out the top ten confessions were:
The study also notes that taking saved spots (13.35%), shaking off sand near others (7.07%), and allowing children (4.98%) and pets (2.49%) to invade others’ space were frequent faux pas.
However, when answering which bad beach behavior annoyed them the most, littering was the clear winner, blowing the other options out of the water at 81.75%.