The Most Common Bad Beach Habits in the U.S., According to a New Survey

Millions of Americans hit the beach each year, and with that many people, some bad behavior is inevitable. But just how much poor behavior goes down may surprise you. 

According to a recent study from Beach.com, 93 percent off beachgoers claim “to practice good beach etiquette, yet almost everyone (92 percent) also admits to at least one bad beach habit.” The study surveyed 1,000 people, analyzing both how people think they behave at the beach and how they actually do.

The three “most shameless beach behaviors” Americans engage in, according to the site, are taking sand or shells, peeing in the water, and drinking alcohol. In fact, a whopping 70.1 percent of people admit to peeing in the water (and that’s just those willing to admit it), while nearly half (48.6 percent) say they consume alcohol on the beach, and 38.6 percent admit to taking shells home. 

While all these behaviors aren’t necessarily great, taking shells from the beach could be the most detrimental of all. According to a 2014 study, tourists removing shells from popular beaches have led to “habitat changes such as increased beach erosion, changes in calcium carbonate recycling, and declines in diversity and abundance of organisms, which are dependent on shell availability.” 

“Molluscan shells are of prime importance to hermit crabs, and although sand beaches are not good places for such crabs, dead snail shells on mud-flats and rocky shores do form a primary resource for abundant hermit crabs,” Geerat Vermeij, a mollusk shell expert and distinguished professor of geology with the University of California Davis, said in response to the study. “More subtly, many small organisms settle on dead shells, and so removing such shells will eliminate habitats for these colonists.”

Other bad habits to make Beach.com’s list included taking too long in the facilities, loud music, not picking up after pets, littering, smoking, feeding wildlife, and sitting too close to your neighbor. 

To make matters worse, the team also polled people on what behaviors annoy them most about other beachgoers. And it turns out, we’re all living in glass houses, throwing stones. 

“Americans quietly admit to their bad beach etiquette, but they’re much more vocal about the bad etiquette of others. We also appear to be a bit hypocritical,” the company shared in their findings. “Even though 93 percent of the country thinks they have good beach etiquette, 92 percent also admit to at least one bad beach behavior. Here is the hypocrisy—a whopping 70 percent also say poor etiquette negatively impacts their time at the beach.” 

Luckily, there is something we can do about it: Simply do better for our environment and fellow travelers. Pick up after your pet, wear headphones if you want to listen to music, give each other space, pee in the bathrooms when you can, and always leave the beach exactly how you found it. That way, everyone can enjoy its splendor too.