People who make video calls in confined public spaces, holding their phones a foot from their face and speaking loudly:

Anybody anywhere on a cell phone in public is annoying. If I can hear what you say and especially if I can hear what they say on speaker It’s Too Loud.

[Quote] Is this rude or is it considered acceptable?

It’s the height of dignity and grace, Rose.

thirsty Attention Seekers

No not unreasonable OP. I have to restist punching these people in the face.

My biggest annoyance with idiots doing public video calls is the fact that if I’m standing nearby then there’s a chance that I too will be in the shot. It feels like a huge invasion of privacy.

There was somebody doing this in front of me in an airport line recently and it made me furious. But I’m also pathologically averse to confrontation, so they got nothing more than a VICIOUS eye-roll.

Slap them viciously, OP. DL tradition.

It’s not just video calls. It’s also the idiots who put their calls on speakerphone on the train and in restaurants.

I was in a tiny peaceful cafe yesterday. Well, peaceful until the woman at the next table had a long loud business meeting on her phone.

Some people lack self awareness and can’t read a room. Some of these people are very successful and some of them clearly aren’t.

I would yell (just out of view)

“HEY FATTY! THERE”S A SKIDMARK ON YOUR PANTS!”

[quote]It’s also the idiots who put their calls on speakerphone on the train and in restaurants.

And even the idiots who don't use a speakerphone.

I was in a restaurant and the two women behind me held a speaker phone call at their table.

I got up and stared at them directly, and asked them to stop because they were being rude. They said that I can go move off i have a problem with it.

I then said to the lady on the other end of the phone, "ma'am your sisters are broadcasting this entire call to a restaurant and now we all know the details of your divorce, dear"

The woman starting freaking out and crying"wait, what's going on, is that true?"

I said "yes it is, and it seems they don't care about that. You should know your privacy is being violated".

I was called an asshole, but they did wrap up their call. My husband came back from the bathroom after that and he missed the whole confrontation.

I would love to say that I felt happy with the outcome, or that the other patrons witnessing this drama had thanked me. But no, I am sure I was seen as the asshole, and I was very shaken up by it.

People who do this are thoughtless, entitled and intolerably self-centered

Yes it's rude. No, it won't stop.

Add me to the list of DLers that despise this.

The quicker a gamma ray burst annhiliates this planet like a giant neutron bomb the happier I'll be.

Heinous behavior

This is reality now, unfortunately. There are a handful of decent people out there (even younger generations) that are bothered by such things. Sometimes you just catch a glance with like-minded people in the same situation, roll your eyes together and move on with your day.

Improved:

"HEY FATTY! A SMELLY SKIDMARK IS BLEEDING THROUGH YOUR PANTS!"

absolutely obnoxious. the only time I have a bit of tolerance for it is when I am taking the bus and an immigrant is taking their kids to daycare on their way to work and they call their family overseas. I am not sure why that doesn't bother me but I think it has something to do with, they likely work harder and more than anyone else on the bus.

What infuriates me even more is assholes who don't buy headphones but listen to music in public. what the actual fuck is wrong with you that you think it's ok to loudly listen to music on your phone on the bus?

It's "I'm the Main Character" syndrome.

This sounds low rent.

I hate people.

I think people on their speakerphone, holding the phone like it's a pop tart, should have very bad things happen to them

I refuse to do this outside the confines of my own home or the inside of my car.

It seems so blatantly obvious how rude it is that it boggles the mind how socially clueless and graceless some people can be. Or how much they just don’t care about anyone but themselves.

I think the invention of personal cellphones was the end of civilization.