What’s the explanation for the holding of the phone like a pizza tray and using the speakerphone in private, in vehicles and in public?
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Yeah, that drives me nuts.
Like they feel holding their phone like that gives them a roving cone of silence. . .so what I do, if someone is yakking loudly on their phone is I stop and stare at them, eventually they act all put out and I tell them they were talking so loud I thought they wanted everyone to hear what they are saying.
Most go outside or tone it down, but the “”select” loud-mouths go all nasty and start yelling about butting in and then they yell to the someone on the phone about how some cracker is projecting attitude and disrespecting them. Thus far, lucky, none have attacked me but we shall see.
Before Covid I was at a lunch spot and someone (you know who) about 3 tables away got a call and...STARTED USING THE SPEAKERPHONE TO CONVERSE.
I looked at her and asked ‘Did that person call to talk to you or to me?’
She gave me a dirty look which I fully expected and said ‘Me.’
I responded ‘Then why can I hear both of you talking?’
The advent of phone earbuds with microphones (wired or Bluetooth) has also encouraged this yak-yak demographic.
They have occasionally climbed onto the exercise machine next to me at the gym as they have phone conversations (at top volume of course) - so loud that it drowned out the ambient noise of the gym and the machines AND it drowned out my over-the-ears headphones.
Now that I’m riding a bicycle most of the time (gyms closed) I pass them on sidewalks and trails. And, as you may guess, they’re yakking away while walking.
In both of the above instances their exertion level is as close to zero as possible and still be standing/walking upright. The hands flop around as they shuffle along at 1.5 mph.
Perhaps it might occur to them that their ‘exercise’ is wildly ineffective.
On a somewhat serious note, I am convinced that the use of technology, especially where it may be rude, inappropriate or counterproductive, is a phenomenon very similar and/or related to the ‘talking with an attitude’ of the article.
I always wonder who’s on the other end of the phone and if they are also wasting time and ignoring the task at hand while they chat away. Hours upon hours of BS.