Neighbor's 'Considerate' Gesture To Ensure Music Isn't Too Loud Goes Viral

The internet has lauded how one music lover has ensured that the volume never gets too loud for his next-door neighbor with a genius trick.

As someone who loves listening to music at all times of day, Reddit user u/hybridhighway will happily have rock music, country, pop, and even orchestral blasting out of his speakers. The 25-year-old of Edmonton, Canada, told Newsweek that he "likes it loud"—especially when he's in the shower.

As much as he loves a hot shower soundtracked by his favorite playlist, that isn't always ideal for his neighbor, whose bedroom is adjacent to u/hybridhighway's bathroom. Thankfully, the Redditor came up with a clever hack to make sure his neighbor can control the volume of his music with just a simple text message.

By adding a shortcut to his iPhone, u/hybridhighway has made sure that if he receives a message saying "volume down" from that neighbor, the music goes from 100 percent down to 70 percent volume.

"I'm a huge music lover and I listen to music when I'm in the shower, and throughout the day as I'm working from home," he said.

"My neighbor has never complained to me, but the idea came to me when I was thinking about how I could be sure I wasn't being too loud as they've only just moved in."

Even at a 70 percent volume level, the Redditor can still enjoy his shower concerts, but the music is low enough to ensure there's no sound leakage into his neighbor's home.

While they have yet to test it out properly, u/hybridhighway has tried it several times himself to make sure it worked. The neighbor greatly appreciated this gesture too, as he told the Redditor that it was "very considerate" of him to put so much thought into it.

"Love thy neighbor" is a frequently used adage, but sometimes that's easier said than done. According to a survey by Porch.com, the most annoying neighbor behaviors include intruding on privacy, being too noisy, refusing to pick up after a pet, and parking in a spot that isn't theirs.

Among that list, being too loud with music or conversations was the most common occurrence, with 49 percent of respondents saying their neighbor is guilty of doing it at some point.

After coming up with the genius hack to give his neighbor "the power" to turn the music down, u/hybridhighway shared it in a Reddit post that has amazed social media users. Since it was shared on July 7, the post has gone viral with over 5,400 votes and hundreds of comments already.

The online reaction has been unlike anything he expected, but he's been delighted to see so much positivity and support.

"The post went viral on Reddit, and there have been lots of people in the comments wishing they had me as a neighbor, citing the shortcut as thoughtful," u/hybridhighway told Newsweek.

"I love to find ways to bring automation and AI to improve our relationships with others and improve our own lives as well. Technology is cool, but's is especially cool when it empowers us to be better versions of ourselves. I'd encourage people to think how they can embrace technology for that purpose in their own lives."

Since sharing his novel idea, Reddit users have been full of praise for u/hybridhighway's simple trick that avoids any awkward confrontations. One comment reads: "I want to be your neighbor, you're so nice."

Another person responded: "that's honestly really cool, we need more people and shortcuts like this."

One Redditor added: "This is both clever and considerate. Good job fantastic human."

While another person joked: "Any chance this idea could work for neighbors with barking dogs."

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