The speakerphone paradox

[u/NeighborhoodJust1197]

I was at the pool today when a woman started having a conversation on her phone using the speaker.

I politely asked her if she could not use the speaker and pointed to my headphones.
She said, “I don’t have headphones.”
So I said, “You can just hold the phone next to your ear.”

She looked at me with a completely blank expression and said, “I’m on speakerphone.”
I said, “Well… that’s the problem.”

Apparently, we had reached the limits of modern technology.

[u/jbjhill]

If it’s at normal conversational levels, like two people sitting next to each other gabbing, I’m way more ok with it. The problem is that it’s NEVER at that level.

[u/Ok_Topic5037 → u/jbjhill]

That’s exactly what I was thinking. What’s the difference between this and two people chatting irl? It’s only a problem if their volume is loud, and that can happen in both situations

[u/dogsgonewild1 → u/Ok_Topic5037]

Phone calls have shit audio quality and audio artifacts. The audio is also coming from one really small place that doesn't project the same as a person talking. It's completely distracting and annoying because it doesn't sound natural. An auditory anomaly is going to grab your attention.

[u/RedditMcBurger → u/dogsgonewild1]

I guess but I wouldn't consider someone rude because the audio they're emanating as voice isn't high enough quality for me

[u/Striking-Field7344 → u/RedditMcBurger]

It's rude if it's really distracting and avoidable.

The last part is key.

[u/RedditMcBurger → u/Striking-Field7344]

I guess but if you're not making more volume than someone having an in person conversation I just can't see a problem with it.

[u/upRightProperLad → u/RedditMcBurger]

Yeah I thought I was going crazy for a minute but I've literally never had an issue with someone being on the phone in public, whereas I have had an issue with loud teenagers or people speaking/acting ridiculously in public

[u/Oesterreich-Ungarn → u/Striking-Field7344]

Right! I've always been saying, if you have a speech impediment you should only talk in emergency situations.

[u/Adjective-Noun-nnnn → u/Ok_Topic5037]

The audio quality is like nails on a chalkboard for me.

See also: chuds who listen to music on their phone speakers.  An unwelcome bluetooth speaker in public at least sounds like music, and I have broad taste, so I can deal most of the time.  Phone speaker?  I will yeet your iphone out of the gym.

[u/everTheFunky1 → u/jbjhill]

It’s only folks that are in convos w excessively loud people and cannot speak at normal volume themselves. Why are they always yelling at someone named Kim?

[u/jimkurth81 → u/everTheFunky1]

Also, what I’ve noticed while traveling abroad, is that Americans are usually loud people by default. I would be touring and the loudest people talking and holding conversations so that everyone could hear were Americans. No joke. Many Europeans and non-Americans say we’re loud everywhere we go and it’s true.

[u/jimkurth81 → u/jbjhill]

Exactly my comment was stating. People belt their voices out so loudly when they’re holding the phone 12 inches away from their mouth. Regular conversation levels are fine, I agree. But I’ve never witnessed people chatting on speaker phone with their normal talking voice

[u/Krethlaine → u/jimkurth81]

If my stepmother is having a normal conversation, I usually can’t hear her from across the house. If she’s on the phone, it’s as though we’re in the same room.

[u/MeowRawrUwu → u/Krethlaine]

My grandmother said she yells through the phone “because you’re so far away” and it killed me

[u/ExtremeExperience199 → u/jbjhill]

No. It is a private conversation. Put the goddamn phone to your ear. Yk like old days when people still had manners.

[u/RedditMcBurger → u/jbjhill]

Thank you, this is why I don't like the generalization on Reddit. People just say all of a group is bad. But maybe it's the people being bad in the group.

In this case, it's most. But I hate the fact that people genuinely hate me if I do a normal human thing, just because OTHERS do it rudely.

[u/lampenpam → u/RedditMcBurger]

I disagree. When I'm on the train reading something, I don't care if a lot ofnpeople are talking, you hear it all the time so its easy for my brain to blend out. But the moment someone uses the loudspeaker on their phone, the voice sounds differently to the surroundings and sticks out. It's much harder to ignore and I find it much harder to concentrate.