To think cafes should have signs asking people not to have their phones on speaker?

[PrinceHaz]

In the last few years I’ve noticed an increase in people being unaware of the effect of the noise from their phones on people nearby.
Nearly every time I go for lunch or for a coffee people will be talking with their phones on speaker or playing videos with sound.
Recently, I approached someone who had spent her whole meal showing her friend videos next to me and told her the sound had prompted me to leave. She looked at me as if I was mad.
I am surprised cafes and restaurants don’t have signs asking people not to do this. The sound is tinny and for me really intrusive.
So AIBU and over sensitive?

YANBU

People doing this should be immediately asked to leave and then sent on a social awareness course. It's absolutely unacceptable.

I agree with you. It's so obnoxious. I've had it on Trains, round the pool as well.

Yes! And also on buses. I can't belive how unaware people are - I've asked a couple of people to turn it down on the bus and one of then called me a word that sounds like hunt. Do they not no or not care?

What would actually be better is for people to have some sense of awareness of others. Then a sign wouldn't be required.

On a similar note, I always find it depressing to see signs stating that abuse of staff will not be tolerated. A damning indictment of society that such signs are necessary.

In general YANBU, but YABU expecting signs to have any effect. People ignore "quiet" coaches on trains, where there are signs everywhere, so I can't imagine someone so self-obsessed to talk loudly on a speakerphone telephone call to bother reading signs at all.

I know OP

Also irritating in shops when I want to browse in peace

Yanbu. I absolutely HATE the noise from other peoples phones. Can’t stand it. So anti social.

No, YANBU and actually it’s a great idea. I will sing up a petition straight away.
If several people put their video on it will be like eating through a fire alarm.

I agree this should not happen. However we cant expect businesses to have to take responsibility for anti-social behaviour.

Speaking as someone currently on a crowded train that has about five separate devices in my carriage alone on speakerphone, I'd happily taser anyone who does it.

I don't think anyone who's sufficiently antisocial to think that using a phone on speakerphone in a cafe is acceptable behaviour is going to read a notice and act on it.

You’re not unreasonable to be annoyed by it but it’s a bit tough on the cafe/restaurants to expect them to predict all the different ways that people behave anti-socially and put up signs asking them not to. Perhaps just a generic sign: “You’re not at home - don’t be a dick”? They need customers, though - they can’t drive people away with loads of rules.

Yes- I agree that people who would do this anyway probably won’t care what a sign says. But in the absence of any advice about this, there’s no one making it known generally that it’s socially unacceptable.

Perhaps a more general notice would be a start E.g. Please be considerate if others when using your phone.

My brother has serious cognitive decline due to a degenerative illness. He loves to focus in on these sort of speaker conversations, repeat parts of it and offer advice. It tends to shorten the conversations but the negative is that we take him out to socialise and speak with him. He can't focus on his food or on speaking to us when there's all this background noise.

One of my siblings does this....gets s phone call nearly every day from their son at uni....so they WhatsApp video call each other rather than ringing g and have it on full volume while chatting...anywhere, out shopping, eating, drinks, they are utterley oblivious and have no concept of how annoying it is.

It's like yes, your dc is at uni, we all.know!!!

Slightly off-topic but we were at a hotel in NY several years ago, and in the pool (not really a kids sort of hotel/pool) there was a sign asking people not to shit in the water!!??! Not the sort of thing that you would think needs a sign :-)

I was thinking the other day that there needs to be the equivalent of the old TV adverts for the Green Cross Code or Don’t Jump Red Lights…public information ads.

TikTok or Instagram ads maybe saying that playing videos or having video calls on your phone without headphones is socially unacceptable.

It drives me nuts.

That was like the pub I went to in a seaside town recently that bad a sign in the toilets asking people not towash their feet in the hand basins. 🫣

@Otins definitely. I was on a crowded bus recently where an older lady was scrolling through Facebook and playing every single video on her feed on speakerphone. I was murderous by the end of the journey. Although probably not as much as the poor bloke sitting next to her!

Was the phone noise louder than if they were chatting? Or a child making happy play noises?

A cafe is a social place. If you want silence, go somewhere more suitable.

Perhaps a more general notice would be a start E.g. Please be considerate if others when using your phone

Considerate people don't need to be told this. People who do this won't think it's inconsiderate.

I actually think there should be. It’s relatively new territory so nothing is done about it, but something should be done.

Yes but people don’t, hence the post and the definite need for this to become the next anti social thing society tackles.

It’s a start and if you want to ask them to stop, you can point out the sign.