I’m traveling with family this weekend in a touristy place and have been out in public in crowded areas. I am really shocked by the number of people who have loud, personal conversations on the phone in speaker mode. This ranges from walking down the sidewalk, to in line for washrooms, to seated restaurant dining.
I’ve heard people say that it’s because the phone speaker breaks (for their ear) but I’ve never had that happen in all the years I’ve destroyed phones and never had a friend or colleague say that happened. Other people say it’s because the glass is cracked and they worry about cutting their face, etc.
My personal bias is this is inconsiderate but then I ask myself how is it different from talking to a person next to them, say. I’m willing to be change my mind here.
People who do this, please explain what’s going on so I can sleep at night. :)
For me: My ‘ear’ speaker no longer works, and I answer about 8 phone calls a year, so there’s no pressure to get a new phone, or to carry earphones.
I don’t personally see it as any less considerate than talking on your phone in public normally. It makes you look kind of obnoxious and ridicukous, holding your phone up like it’s some kind of tiny pizza box - and yes, I feel obnoxious and ridiculous if I ever have to take a call in public - but I don’t see why it should actually bother anyone else any more than any other conversation happening in public.
I wish people would say why they disagree rather than just voting you down. I’m really starting to think people just feel like it’s no different than talking to someone else.
For me the difference is if you are in a restaurant, say, both ends of the convo (people at a table) moderate their volume based on “reading the room”. When you have someone on speaker, they can’t do that at all so you end up driving people nuts.