To hate people having full conversations on the phone on the train

🤣🤣🤣

I sat behind a girl on the bus last week who was on a facetime call to her Dad. Couldn't help overhearing all about the day she had at work, and the arrangements she was making to meet Pete at the house then they were going to go out for a bite to eat but hadn't decided where they were going yet. Oh and had he decided what to get for Andy's Birthday yet? Then she spoke to the dog, Polly was apparently stretched out in the window enjoying the sun. She couldn't wait to see her tomorrow.

Honestly I could go on. 😂

But it actually made me smile rather than annoy me. I very nearly popped over her shoulder to wave to Dad 😁

I’M ON A BARGE!!!!!

I've heard someone who was obviously a social worker have a very identifying conversation with a colleague about a young person on her caseload. I was gobsmacked that it was so indiscreet and so loud that I could hear every word several rows away.

Yes, apparently it’s because our brains automatically try to fill in the gaps, which isn’t the case when two people are talking to one another.
I find it annoying when it’s a long call, too.

You could chose not to listen. Zone it out. Buy some earbuds and listen to music. Concentrate on a book.

I can't say I'm enthralled by other people's conversations but they're not difficult to ignore.

I don’t mind unless it’s in speaker/ FaceTime but it does piss me off that they never lose signal!

Im always shocked at some of the personal conversations that go on though. I’ve heard people being performance managed, someone ringing round to tell people his Mum had died and one young man telling his new girlfriend his sexual history because he wanted to be honest with her!

I agree it's a bit annoying but unless they are being really loud it's not antisocial. Unlike people who have video calls or scroll through tiktoks on speaker on public transport. They have zero self awareness and there's a special place in hell for them - where silence reigns.

I enjoy a chat on the train sometimes. Why not

I get really bad anxiety sittung near noisy passengers

Move seat if it bothers you so much..or bring sonething to cover/plug your ears.

Same here.

For me personally I have really bad anxiety and struggle travelling alone ,if I feel overwhelmed ill phone a friend or loved one.

Tbf I did think you made a valid point upthread about phone conversations sometimes being needed to mitigate anxiety. Plus you mentioned you speak quietly, in all honesty I don't think many people would have an issue with phone conversations on trains if they weren't so often held so loudly!

(Before anyone comes for me, I realise there are sometimes physical reasons why people speak loudly and I'm not referring to those people. I'm talking here about people who have main character energy and think the whole world wants to hear what they're saying! - see also radio DJs, but that would be a whole other thread. 😂)

I came to say this 😂 I get my ears out, it passes the time well, gegging in on someone else's drama! 🤣🤣

Trains are not quiet spaces. People talk to each other on them. The person I am speaking to happens to be on the other end of my phone.
I don't have it loudspeaker and I am softly spoken anyway.

If you have a problem with that, then use headphones.

When I'm sat on a train, in an ideal world I would be staring out of the window, listening to music or a podcast.

If I'm on a train Mon-Fri, I'm usually travelling for work, those hours don't belong to me, unless I want to work that evening. So, I'll be on my phone, responding to emails or working on my laptop. I will have my earphones in most of the time, to drown out the noise of people chatting. But they are as entitled to do that as I'm to work, and speak on the phone because the train is a shared space.

If you don't like that, pay for first class, go to the quiet Carriage, take a bus, take your car because it sounds like a you problem.

They're too busy to have a conversation in their own home? Wow that is busy

So your anxiety trumps others comfort?

I sit in the quiet carriage for this reason. But you often get an idiot in there still
making a noise, I do usually say something

Bravo! Those types are the most annoying imo.

I remember when mobile phones were still quite a new thing a lot of those performative (usually male) types would make loud work calls from trains booming things like 'Tracey, I'm on the mobile if anyone needs me', appearing to think everyone would be thinking 'Wow, how important and impressive he is!' when in reality most people were probably thinking 'Dickhead'.

God yeah. 😄And it's so true - when people talk on the phone while out and about they so often shout, presumably to hear themselves above whatever background noise is present. I don't think most of us would be nearly as irked by phone calls in public if people just spoke at their normal volume, and (where possible) didn't choose places that were already noisy from which to make their calls.

I agree with you op. It’s rude.

My most successful British passive aggressive action unfolded on a quiet carriage from London Paddington to Swansea once. A dickhead finance bro on a loud self congratulatory performance phone call had annoyed me for nigh on thirty minutes. I text my husband to phone me- just so that I could answer and loudly (as a soft spoken woman I mean as loud as I can speak without shouting) say “sorry Love- I can’t chat! I’m in the quiet carriage so it would be rude! Text me if it’s urgent!” , whilst glancing at the bro. He ended his call by calling me a bratty bitch to his counterpart- but nonetheless - a win for manners imo as the carriage was quiet for the remaining hour or so

Yes, reading this thread made me think of that. “I’M ON THE PHONE!” as he marched down the street. Very clever and funny bloke.

if it’s during working hours, then they might be working. Not everyone has the luxury of time so they have to take work calls whilst they travel.