If you’re on a train, plane, elephant, or any other form of public transportation; it is taboo to have a long phone conversation.  Other passengers will snicker and frequently request that you terminate your phone call.  Up until now I thought this was logical behavior.

It is conventional wisdom that any individual who requests that you terminate your phone call is doing so to protect the tranquility of travel.  They are the diplomat representing all the passengers who are also bothered by your phone convo.  But are they really standing up to defend the quiet commute?

Face-to-face conversations that occur on public transportation are commonplace.  If two people in the midst of a face-to-face conversation were told to be quiet, the usher would be painted a villain.  They would be characterized as nasty, rude and disrespectful.  But wait a minute?!  Shouldn’t a face-to-face conversation be twice as disruptive as a phone conversation?  Instead of one person talking you now have two.

Perhaps people aren’t bothered by the noise.  Perhaps they are bothered because they can’t hear what the person is saying on the other end of the phone.  People tolerate face-to-face conversation because they can eavesdrop.  The phone conversation eliminates the ability for a third party to listen in.

The next time a person breaks up one of my phone conversations I want them to say this:

“Excuse me sir, I noticed that you’re speaking on the phone.  The fellow passengers and I cannot eavesdrop on your conversation since we can’t hear what the other person is saying.  In light of our selfish tendencies, can you please hang up the call immediately.”