The key to working at a place like Ars Technica is solid news judgment. [eds note: tell that to Benj Edwards] I’m talking about the kind of news judgment that knows whether a pet peeve is merely a pet peeve or whether it is, instead, a meaningful example of the Ways that Technology is Changing our World.
The difference between the two is one of degree: A pet peeve may drive me nuts but does not appear to impact anyone else. A Ways that Technology is Changing our World story must be about something that drives a lot of people nuts.
“But where is the threshold?” I hear you asking plaintively. “It’s extremely important that I know when something crosses the line from pet peeve to important, chin-stroking journalism topic!”
Fortunately, the answer is simple. The threshold has been breached when your local public transit agency puts up a sign about the behavior in question.
Which brings me to the sign I saw yesterday in Philadelphia.
“Unless the tea is REALLY hot, keep the call off speaker,” it said.
(For those not in the US, “tea” in this context means gossip or news.)
I fucking hate speakerphone and don’t use it even in my van unless a photo or document is shared during the conversation that needs to be addressed.
Probably how children were raised to speak to people over the phone.
Until the iPhone, I can’t think of too many personal phones that could put the call on speaker. So, if families with kids called other family, it was usually a form of one on one calls where people handed the phone off between each other. Nowadays, the default option is to put the call on speaker so everyone can hear everyone else. That set an expectation to where calls are on speaker unless there is a need for privacy.
I’m pretty sure Nokias could also do it on the speaker, at least some of them.
But also I have calls on the speaker all the time for a different reason myself: I can walk around and do things with both hands. Sometimes I’ll cook on a call, etc. But what kind of a monster does that in public?
I’m taking about default behavior. 20+ years ago, the default phone call was pushing a piece of technology against an ear an next to your mouth. That hasn’t been the default for a while.