Why do people talk on their phones like this?

[PumpkinSpiceGirl]

I’ve seen loads of people lately (mainly younger) holding their phone flat and talking into it like an Apprentice candidate instead of holding it to their ear. That means if you’re close to them you can hear their entire conversation which I find really rude and not sure why they’d want a stranger to hear it either.

Am I missing something or just getting old and grumpy?

1. Because my face gets sweaty
2. Because my fat cheek always mashes the keypad 😂
3. Because my phone is getting old and I have to use the speaker to be able to hear anyone.
4. Because sometimes I need to be looking at a document etc on my phone while I’m speaking to someone.

I’d never do it in public though 😳 I let it go to voicemail.

There’s a shop near me where the owner sits outside and does this really , really loudly about things I’m assuming he thinks will impress passerby’s
he looks and sounds ridiculous

It never occurred to me that anyone else would care how I use my phone 🤣

it didn’t occur to you that listening to both sides of your conversation ( with the other person on loud speaker) is twice as annoying?

I think we can put it in the same category as people who play music from their phones - usually in confined spaces like trains or buses.

even worse when they are wearing headphones and it looks like they are talking to themselves.

This is ridiculous. It's exactly the point of headphones, to be able to take calls easily.

No, because I wear headphones ?

I do this now. Not in public really, or only v briefly - I certainly wouldn't have a full conversation.

I think it's partly since lockdown where we were all FaceTiming so much more, and partly just a trend that's evolved.

As I say it's when I'm on my own; I can continue to work or do what I was doing while taking a call. It would also be mainly when chatting to one of the kids eg, rather than making a more official call.

i wondered the same thing op
i mute callers with my ear accidentally

The people who think they are doing to avoid radiation or are leaving voicenotes I'm wondering if you don't get out much, it's absolutely not that

It's pure selfishness inflicting your conversations on everyone around you. No one cares how you hold your phone in private but if you do it in public I'm marking you down as someone to avoid

Because the both the speaker and microphone are at the bottom on my phone. It would be pointless to replicate the position of an old style landline, as the speaker is nowhere near my ear.

perhaps it is due to their make up?

Oo yes, I wear sun cream every day and if I put my phone to my face it gets caked in white residue 😳 no thank you

Admittedly I do this, but never around others, well, anyone near enough to join the conversation, would do it on a park bench, but with the volume loud enough for only me for hear, even though no one is around. As PP said, I don’t like the feeling of a warm phone on my face when I’m having a lengthy phone call.

But it’s a bit ridiculous to complain about AirPods, etc…

I know right 🙄

It stops the phone getting all greasy/covered in make up when you hold it against your face?

I don't do it because I'm old, but I'm never sure where the ear and mouth pieces are in a mobile or if I'm actually talking to the right bit!

I do it because my arthritis makes holding the phone to my ear really difficult and painful and I find using my phone like this to be more comfortable.

There is a girl on my morning commute (old enough to know how a phone works at your ear) who used to do this every day on the bus. Lots of eye rolling and tutting from the other commuters in a typical British way. Until one day a couple of them started joining in her conversation. She told them to stop as it was a private conversation, resulted in lots of sniggers from most of the bus 😂

She didn’t do it again

I do this when not in public because holding the phone to my ear, I usually manage to activate airplane mode with my ear, which cuts off the call!

This is exactly why I need to do it sometimes. You'll get people say that the shitty judgements aren't aimed at us as we're 'disabled' but I aren't sure how they'd know unless they ask!

No one wants to listen to other people's conversations

They can be very entertaining. I was sitting in a restaurant once and a telephone job interview was going on behind me. I really wanted to hear both sides.

Everyone who does it for any reason?

I don't know everyone's reason for doing it, a few have been listed here, but surely if you are terrified of your makeup getting smeared, your brain getting fried by radiation, , your earlobes playing with your phone settings or cascades of sweat then get a headphone/mic combo and pop the phone in your pocket so you can go about your business without inflicting your full conversations to an unsuspecting public while looking like you simulating taking a bite of a digital pizza.

I understand that some people are uptight about excess/unnecessary noise. What I cannot get my head around is why you care about someone using earbuds and speaking into their phone. It seems like a very bizarre thing to even bother thinking about.

Oh I thought it was so all the data in the phone didn't dribble out of the hole at the bottom. 😮

Sound quality is so shit on mobiles you have to do it or nobody can understand you.

Radiation WTF

I don't think avoiding getting make up on your phone, following advice not to put it close to your head or wanting to prevent cutting people off mid conversation means you're "terrified" any more than cleaning the bathroom means you're terrified of germs or using a zebra crossing means you're terrified of crossing the road. It's just things you do that make life run a bit more smoothly.

This!

I can’t here anything through a screen.