Using Speakerphone in Public
By LooeyVille
@LooeyVille (59)
United States
July 5, 2025 2:02pm CST
Another one of the things I read that the younger generation hates about the older generation is they say old people talk loudly on their speaker phones in public.
Really? That's what I see young parents in their 30's doing! They say speakerphones are a thing of the 1980's and that now cafes and open-plan offices are supposed to be quiet without "speaker call slicing through air like a chainsaw."
I did hear a man in his 50's the other day, not on a speaker phone, but talking in a restaurant on his phone giving our his credit card number. That was just dumb. Gen Z said privacy concerns like this plus relationship drama makes the habit of using a speakerphone a social faux pas.
The younger generation suggests giving Grandpa some inexpensive earbuds. The young ones say they keep a wired pair in every bag just in case.
Me personally, I only use the speaker setting on my phone if I'm at home in private when somebody on the other end wants me to look something up for them on my computer and I need both hands for the keyboard.
Do you use speakerphone mode in public? Who do you think does this the most - young people or old people?
9 people like this
8 responses
@kareng (76845)
• United States
11h
I, too, have mainly seen the younger ones using speaker phone in public. It is very annoying and irresponsible!
The only time I use it is when one of the daughters or grandkids call and both my husband and I listen in at the same time, which is usually at home.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (193517)
• United States
4h
I don't have a speakerphone mode on my flip phone. I use the speakerphone setting when I'm home talking to the computer tech people or something like that.
@xFiacre (13868)
• Ireland
8h
@looeyville Using speakerphone in public is as bad as spitting on the pavement, picking one’s nasal cavities in public and neglecting to pull the chain after a major session in a public lavatory. It is rude, inconsiderate and a whole lot of other things to. It might be different if those conversations were interesting but they are not. They are mundane and are invariably conducted using sub standard grammar. There ought to be a law against it.
@Ineeddentures (8440)
•
7h
I do it all the time
Then I pretend that I cannot hear what the caller is saying
And I shout when I talk into the phones
It's funny
@AmbiePam (100143)
• United States
10h
I hate it when people use their speaker phone in public. I have noticed it happening with both young and old, including my dad. He’ll go to extreme lengths not to do it, but sometimes his hearing aids don’t work well enough to hear on the phone without putting it on speaker. And people with bad hearing don’t realize how loud it really is. So while he frequently tells the caller he’ll have to get back to them, occasionally he has to take the call when there is no getting around it.
