{"id":617,"date":"2009-12-10T14:07:12","date_gmt":"2009-12-10T12:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fascinating-america.com\/blog\/?p=617"},"modified":"2015-04-26T18:48:53","modified_gmt":"2015-04-26T16:48:53","slug":"some-conversations-are-meant-to-be-private","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fascinating-america.com\/blog\/some-conversations-are-meant-to-be-private\/","title":{"rendered":"Some conversations are meant to be private"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Hi,” said the man as he walked up to<\/span> me. I didn’t think I knew him, but I said hello back.<\/p>\n

“I just wanted to let you know how I’m doing,” he said.<\/p>\n

Well, that’s considerate<\/span>, I thought. The Philadelphia airport, where we were standing, is the epitome<\/span> of discomfort and inconvenience<\/span>, so the passengers often try to be friendly to each other. But he continued:<\/p>\n

“I’m at the airport.”<\/p>\n

Well, duh<\/span>. He was looking at me, he was inches away from me, but he wasn’t talking to me. He was on his phone, distracting me and about 20 other passengers. He should have had a soapbox<\/span> to stand on if he was going to perform a monologue.<\/p>\n

4 reasons<\/h2>\n

This situation, I think, is less common, but worse when it happens, in America than in Europe. First, people simply are louder. Americans are used to more space: they stand further apart when talking, and adjust their speaking volume accordingly. Private homes are the norm; you rarely have to worry about disturbing the neighbors.<\/p>\n

Second, people spend a lot of time in their cars and shout over the vehicle<\/span> noise when talking to passengers. When driving alone, it’s still legal<\/a> in 43 of the 50 states to hold a phone up to one’s face and drive with one hand.<\/p>\n

Third, America has only recently, and slowly, switched over to digital cell-phone<\/span> networks. Most people learned to talk louder to compensate for the inferior<\/span> quality of analog service.<\/p>\n

And fourth, text messaging usually costs extra in the US; you have to sign up for<\/span> a plan<\/span> \u2014 so many don’t. Even if you’re signed up, the person you’re texting might not be. So to be safe, you have to call.<\/p>\n

10 things to say<\/h2>\n

Phoning is permitted<\/span> in public places for good reason, in case of delays, emergencies, or last-minute birthday wishes. The problem is all the unnecessary conversations that people feel entitled to<\/span> make when forgetting how loud they’re talking. Most of us choose to suffer silently, because we think the yakking<\/span> might stop at any moment. Here are 10 things to say if it doesn’t.<\/p>\n