There’s an epidemic sweeping the world. It’s gotten so bad that businesses have had to add signage trying to stem the tide. What started as a lazy editing trick for second rate reality TV shows has now become the bane of polite society.
So we all need to go back to school and re-learn something we never should have forgotten- how to talk on the phone.
Let’s look at this woman:
You will notice she is holding the phone to the head. This ensures that all she can hear whoever she is talking to clearly and they can hear her clearly.
This is not rocket science. This is how we all learned to talk on the phone.
It also appears she is alone. As in, not around a bunch of other people who could not care less about whatever she is discussing.
Now lets’ compare that to this bozo:
How many things is he doing wrong? There are a LOT.
#1 He’s using speakerphone in public, ensuring everyone in a 10 foot radius has to hear both his conversation. NO ONE wants this.
#2 He’s walking down a street while on the phone. So he’s not only annoying people in one place, he’s spreading the lack of respect for his fellow humans all around. He’s doubling down on being a twatwaffle.
#3 He’s walking down the street while on the phone. No I didn’t accidentally repeat myself. He is a danger to himself and others by not focusing on the task at hand- looking where he is going. If he walks into traffic it will somehow not be his fault even though it clearly is.
While it’s most dangerous to wander around streets yelling into a phone that is not the most annoying place to do it. At least if you are outside walking around we only have to deal with your inconsiderate ass for a few minutes.
But people think it’s OK to do this at the grocery store. In the dentist’s waiting room. In the office. In the restroom at Target. It’s not.
If you get a call when you are out and about you have a couple options that show you have manners. You can send the call to voice mail. You can answer and tell the person you are in public and you will call them back when you are not.
If you are in your car having a conversation stay in your damn can until you are finished. Or, you can let the person know you need to go be around other humans now and call them back when you are no longer in public. There is no excuse to walk around McDonalds broadcasting your conversation about next weekend’s plans.
“Well what it’s it’s an emergency?” I hear you asking. “What if someone I love was in a car accident or had a heart attack?” If you get a call like this you can find an out of the way corner of wherever you are to have a SHORT conversation. Then, as soon as possible you exit public places and go to your loved one or call back to have a longer conversation when you’re not in public. This is also not rocket science.
I don’t know when we as a society decided that no one else matters other than ourselves. That we can annoy/ inconvenience our fellow humans by discussing our grocery lists while walking to our desk. That we can have Facetime conversations in the middle of Slumberland Furniture. That it’s OK to go through the checkout of ANY store while talking about your weekend plans.
What the hell is wrong with us?
Let’s decide today, as a species, to do better. It’s literally the least we can do.