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. :)

  • Dojan@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    My boss mentioned that she thinks it’s from those reality TV shows like the Kardashian ones where all calls are on speaker since it’s part of the “entertainment.”

    It’s why people are holding the phone up to their face like a sandwich and speaking into the bottom. It mimics the TV shows.

    • Tuxman@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Oh my god!! That’s the most plausible hypothesis I’ve heard on that weird phenomenon!!

      People do the weirdest and most uncomfortable pose just because they don’t understand they do it on TV so the Boom mic can pick up the convo….

    • λλλ@programming.dev
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      1 year ago

      I like this as a possible explanation. In my experience however, it’s been older people who do this. The generation that most likely wouldn’t be watching these shows

      • shalafi@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        52 here and I do this. It’s comfortable and people can hear me well. I don’t do it in public, except for walking around my yard and talking to a customer or vendor. Even then I feel a little odd.

        What is a “television show”?

        • λλλ@programming.dev
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          1 year ago

          Yeah, I do it not in public too. The topic is specifically about in public though and that’s what I was addressing.

    • yesdogishere@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      even without speaker phone, im always shouting out my conversations out loud. it’s a good way to build mojo. Anytime people stare too long, i just glare and scream “waddya looking at !!!”. Mojo is very important, and helps me get the best business deals.

    • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      They hold it up because they’re holding a microphone and speaking into it. It doesn’t have anything to do with reality TV.

      • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        You’re misunderstanding their comment. The person is referring to people that hold the phone up to their mouth to speak into, but not up to their ear to listen because they’re using speakerphone. This is a dumb way to use the phone because you don’t need to hold the phone up to your face if you’re using speakerphone

        • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Yes that’s what I’m talking about. They’re holding the phone up in front of them like a microphone and speaking at it.

          • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            When the other user said “they should hold on the side of their face like they’re supposed to” you said the same thing. What he said is different from what I said, so which orientation are you actually talking about?

            • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              What is so difficult to understand?

              It’s why people are holding the phone up to their face like a sandwich and speaking into the bottom.

              This is the comment I replied to. They are speaking into the microphone.

              • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
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                1 year ago

                You responded to this comment: https://lemmy.world/comment/4351598

                They described a completely different phone orientation and you claimed that’s what you were describing.

                Also, the comment you are currently referring to is describing the person holding the phone horizontal and speaking into the mic while also using speakerphone which means there’s literally no need to hold the phone up to your face

                • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
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                  1 year ago

                  Oook dude.
                  It’s the same fucking thing lol

                  Do you need me to list every possible way a person could hold a phone while on speaker? What will satisfy this obsession you have?

        • andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          It’s a behavior I started to see in people recording voice messages. Some UIs lagged behind and didn’t turn off the screen at that time + these persons may want to reference whatever happened in their chat. Why they record audio is another question.

      • Tuxman@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        I doubt that’d be the reason (for iphones at least) because when you turn on speakerphone, the sounds comes out the bottom and the voice goes in the FaceTime mic at the top of the screen (beside the earpiece).

        So if they want to be heard as clearly as they can, they should hold the display facing them (like you’re in a video call but no image)

        • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Right. That’s what I’m saying. They are holding it up and talking at the microphone.