Commentary: Why we freeze – and film – when we see disruptive behaviour in public

Disruptive behaviour in public is often a sign that someone needs help. How we respond to that reflects the kind of society we are, says psychiatrist Dr Jared Ng.

SINGAPORE: Every few months, a video circulates online. A woman spits water at commuters on an MRT train. A man removes his clothes in public and starts arguing with strangers. The faces change, but the public reaction rarely does.

Why did no one step in? Why did people just stand around? Why were phones raised instead?

These questions reflect discomfort and uncertainty. Most people are not indifferent. They are just unsettled and unsure what the right response should be.

But the repeated nature of these incidents and videos that go viral suggests that we are still struggling, as a society, to understand what erratic or disruptive behaviour in public represents, and what can reasonably be expected of ordinary members of the public.

Singaporeans are sometimes described as "conflict-averse". Many of us are taught from young to keep to ourselves and avoid confrontation. In crowded public spaces, this tendency has clear benefits. It allows millions of people to share trains and buses with a basic level of order. Most days, it works.