Cell phone use in bathrooms

[Michael]

I may be a wee bit more

TMI for sure.

[Michael]

All right, time to get technical.

Because cell phones don't have the feedback mechanism that amplifies the speaker's voice into his own earpiece the way we're used to from landlines, most people reflexively raise their voices in the constant, subliminal, mistaken belief that not-hearing their own voice amplified while they are speaking indicates that they are not being heard by the other party. That's why overhearing someone on a cellphone is more grating than overhearing someone speaking on a landline phone; the increased volume they use, aggravated by the slightly strained tone of someone perpetually and vainly seeking the reassurance of accustomed-to simultaneous feedback, makes the half-conversation harder to ignore. And because few people realize this, their constant slight anxiety about not-being-heard narrows their attention to exclude the sensitivities of the captive audiences privy to their business. The same conversation conducted on a landline or in person would sound both quieter and more complacent.

I'm with Ruff on wishing people would be more discreet, and concerning the hygiene question, it goes beyond bacteria-count and into the esthetics of segregating our rituals.

[akflightmedic]

I had a few other puns that I tried to drop in on the conversation, glad someone noticed them.

Anyways, not to make this thread trivial as it seems to be a real issue for some people, I really can not see the fuss over the muss. I just do not see how this event occurring would have any significant impact on my life, therefore when it does occur, it is very easy to ignore.

[Michael]

Your ability to focus, and your forbearance, are admirable.

[Just Plain Ruff]

well the rudeness I guess was the fact that the guy called me an ahole for answering him

One story away from this topic

had a guy discussing patient info while he was sitting in the airport. It was so loud that I could hear him which I was about 50 or so feet away. I decided to start writing down things he said. Once he was done, I walked over to him and showed him what I wrote and where I was sitting. To say the least that he was humbled I think was an understatement.

For the rest of the time he was in the terminal he talked softly.

Not sure it it was a permanent lesson for him but hey, I hope it was.

I just think it's kind of funny that people think that their phone calls are so important and they can't wait so they feel nothing about using the bathroom when on the phone. It's just silly.

[JPINFV]

All right, time to get technical.

Because cell phones don't have the feedback mechanism that amplifies the speaker's voice into his own earpiece the way we're used to from landlines, most people reflexively raise their voices in the constant, subliminal, mistaken belief that not-hearing their own voice amplified while they are speaking

I actually try to force myself to speak quieter because of that very reason.

[Just Plain Ruff]

I hate hearing myself speak. I also speak softly or find a private place to talk.

[dougd]

the increased volume they use, aggravated by the slightly strained tone of someone perpetually and vainly seeking the reassurance of accustomed-to simultaneous feedback, makes the half-conversation harder to ignore.

You know, this is easily correctable by the phone manufacturers. VoIP phones put this in place a long time ago (after considerable pain and troubleshooting to figure out "echo" problems). Another neat thing VoIP phones figured out: You can save bandwidth by only encoding signal and not noise, so codecs and algorithms were designed that could differentiate speech from background noise. When there was no speech, the mic was basically "muted," for lack of a better term. The end result was:

"Hello? Hello, are you still there?" all throughout the call.

So much for that idea...

[Richard B the EMT]

I'm thinking a totally different direction.

Cell phones have camera/video capabilities.

Need I go on?

[katgrl2003]

Richard, I actually work with someone who uses the camera on his phone to take pictures of what he leaves in the toilet. We have all learned to be very wary of anything he tries to show us. It's a whole new ick factor.

-Kat