The airport terminal got quieter about 10 years ago, what actually killed the loud chatter?

I fly through Chicago O'Hare twice a month, and I swear the gate areas used to be a wall of noise in 2014. Now it's dead silent, everyone's staring at their phone. Is it smartphones killing small talk or did airlines redesign the seating to split people up on purpose? What changed it for you, the layout or the tech?

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caseywalker6d ago

You mentioned the gate areas being "a wall of noise" back then, and that really hit me. I remember sitting in a crowded terminal around that same time, and this older guy next to me started telling me about his fishing trip because we both kept looking up at the departure board. Now if the board flickers, nobody even lifts their head. But here's the sideways thing, I think the seats themselves did it. Ten years ago, the rows faced each other with big armrests you could lean over. Now they bolt in these individual pods with dividers, so you're basically in your own little cubicle. Even if you wanted to say something to the person next to you, it feels like you're shouting across a fence. The phones just finished the job that the furniture started.