I think you hit the nail on the head with your first post:
Originally Posted by
davidjohnson6
Earlier today, Easyjet crew's repeated instructions were completely ignored by the bulk of pax on a flight I was on
I can't recall ever being on a flight where, whether instructed or not, passengers only stood up one row at a time. Mostly, people seem to sort themselves out without any intervention from the crew. I've even seen, on more than one occasion, passengers being allowed to exit out of turn if the flight is late and/or they have a tight connection.