21-year-old engineering student cuts Wi-Fi after gamer girl cousin refuses to turn the sound down while gaming at 1 AM: "She should be more respectful"

Author image for Ely Bulnes
Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor
May 2, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

I have been out of school for a while now, and let me tell you, I do not miss it. There are some adults that long for the days where their goals were clearer and their life was dictated and schedulted by an external force. Entering the adult world where you have to make your own decisions and work towards your own goals with no one nudging you to commit can be a really difficult transition. I certainly struggled with that in my early twenties, but I don't miss having to write essays or study for subjects that I had little interest in.

In our story today, a young man is struggling to study for his exams. It's not a lack of interest that is making this task difficult – it's the gaming noises coming from the living room at 1 AM. When his gamer girl cousin refuses to listen to his plead for silence, he takes matters into his own hands and starts cutting the Wi-Fi for some peace of mind. 

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  • 01

    AITA for cutting the wifi every night at 11 while my cousin stays with us?

    Cheezburger Image 10499784448
    via romankosolapov from Getty Images Pro

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    I'm a 21M engineering student, living with my parents in Lebanon. Finals are in a week, so my nights are mostly spent memorizing formulas and solving circuits.
    via u/llowoll
  • 03
    Last month, my cousin, say Laura, (17F) asked if she could crash in our guest room for a few weeks while she did a short internship in the city (Beirut) from our village down south Leb. My parents said yes, which is no problem, I like Laura.
    via u/llowoll
  • 04
    A . " RESUME RESUME PROFILE
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  • 05
    The problem started on her second night. Around midnight, I heard loud laughter and TV noises coming from the living room. Laura was online with her friends playing online until 1 a.m.. This happened almost 3 nights in a row even though I complained to her multiple tines all respectful and stuff.
    via u/llowoll
  • 06
    After three nights of this, I was exhausted. I haeshly confronted her and she apologized, but the next night it happened again, albeit only till midnight and it was a little lower. My grades are hanging by a
    via u/llowoll
  • 07
    thread, so I took a bigger approach shut off the wifi at 11 every night and turned it back on when I wake up next morning, around 7. My parents don't mind since they're more TV people and go to sleep early.
    via u/llowoll
  • 08
    Cue chaos. Laura lost connection mid-game the first night I did this, and she came to me furious. She said I was acting like an "old landlord," ruining her only free time. My parents think I overreacted, they say Laura's just enjoying her time with us and the stay is temporary. They want me to turn the internet back on and 'ignore her' instead for the sake of family.
    via u/llowoll
  • 09
    The main router is in my room so most control is mine but I have to listen to my parents in the end. Am I being unreasonable?
    via u/llowoll
  • 10
    Cheezburger Image 10499788288
    via Surfmarkjoe's Images

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  • 11
    ---TL;DR: Started turning the wifi off at night without warning because my visiting cousin wouldn't keep it down while I study for finals. ---
    via u/llowoll
  • 12
    I feel bad because Laura's internship is only about 2 more weeks, and yes, I didn't warn her about turning off the wifi. On the other hand, I'm trying for a scholarship, and I literally can't focus or go to sleep with the late-night noise.
    via u/llowoll
  • 13
    AITA? Edit: It's 9pm now and I'm getting ready to go to bed in a couple of hours and she's already in our living room playing PS on the TV. I still don't know if I should cut it again tonight because at this point it's
    via u/llowoll

  • I completely understand where our protagonist is coming from. She didn't listen to him when he asked her politely to keep it down. However, he jumped to some pretty extreme measures before going to his parents about it. 

  • 14
    like a battle of wits. On one hand my parents pay for the wifi and she is a guest so we should be accommodating her; but I really tried and mentioned this problem so much.
    via u/llowoll
  • 15
    Edit: it's now midnight - I got my parents to agree that she's pushing things too far and they spoke to her themselves and she's agreed to be pretty much completely quite by midnight - which was our compromise. She's packed her stuff up and is now in bed in the guest bedroom - all quiet, bliss.
    via u/llowoll
  • 16
    MerlinBiggs NTA. She is interrupting your sleep.. Your family is being very kind by letting her stay. She should be more respectful.
    via u/MerlinBiggs
  • 17
    Dubbiely Why don't you call her parents and ask them what they think. If it is appropriate to behave like that and if she learned these bad manners at home? I am sure they shut it down very fast.
    via u/Dubbiely
  • 18
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    via Изображения пользователя Yevhen

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  • 19
    Tight Jaguar_3881 Don't your parents want you to do well in school? Why are they favoring her over you, their son. They should want you to have a good education and career. Tell her to go to a hotel. She is a guest in your home. She should have some respect.
    via u/Tight_Jaguar_3881
  • 20
    Josh_horrobinkanye Nta and i genuinely do not see how this is anything else: You repeatedly asked her to tone it down which was ignored, you have to study and that means getting decent rest and surely it's just common curtesy to just at 1 a m
    via u/Josh_horrobinkanye
  • 21
    llowoll OP On one hand my parents pay for the wifi and she is a guest so we should be accommodating her; but I really tried and mentioned this problem so much.
    via u/llowoll
  • 22
    It's 9pm now and I'm getting ready to go to bed in a couple of hours and she's already in our living room playing PS on the TV. I still don't know if I should cut it again tonight because at this point it's like a battle of wits.
    via u/llowoll

  • Thankfully, his parents were on his side in the end. His education is a lot more important than her right to be loud at night. In any case, she can still game and enjoy her free time will being concientious of other people. 

  • 23
    agarrabrant Wake your parents up to tell her to turn it down. Make it your parents' problem. Her video games aren't more important than your grades.
    via u/agarrabrant
  • 24
    mhmcmw I get that she's being annoying and pretty ride, but if your parents pay for the WiFi and presumably it's your parents home and they are the ones who have the final say over who can be a guest and what the limits are on what they'll accept from a guest, I'd say don't cut it
    via u/mhmcmw
  • 25
    again tonight, because at that point your parents are probably going to be pretty ped off at you and your cousin is going to be there for two more weeks regardless. There's no point in making the next two weeks worse for yourself by defying them and creating conflict there.
    via u/mhmcmw
  • 26
    I'd suggest if Laura is genuinely disturbing you after 11pm tonight, you should go and ask your parents to speak to her. Even if they are already in bed themselves. They are the ones telling you not to solve the problem in your own way,
    via u/mhmcmw
  • 27
    so make it up to them to solve the problem themselves. Tomorrow I would suggest trying to acquire a decent pair of comfortable ear plugs or downloading a white noise app on your phone to get through the next two weeks,
    via u/mhmcmw
  • 28
    because it seems like your parents really don't want to rock the boat with your cousin and extended family over this and I think you're going to be the only one who actually suffers for it if you keep turning off the WiFi.
    via u/mhmcmw
  • 29
    TheDragonDoji Don't disconnect the WiFi, access the router settings and block her device via MAC address. Depending on the router, you may be able to set timed periods it will block her device only, from accessing the Internet. The router will still be on and all other devices will still connect...so definitely can't be you messing around!
    via u/TheDragonDoji
  • 30
    Kitties Rule1968 NTA, I'm sorry you're having to deal with your incredibly disrespectful cousin and your parents enabling her bad behavior.
    via u/KittiesRule1968

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studying family drama Music university adulting internet relationships parenting adulthood entitled family video games cousins college entitled people
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