Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Snooping: As Outrageous as It Gets
I know that when I’m in public areas, any work I do on my smartphone or laptop is vulnerable to the eyes of others. That’s not a big deal since I rarely text and seldom use my laptop on a plane.
But in the Wall Street Journal today, there was an article on people checking out others’ messages and documents—over their shoulders and next to them! Not only that, they had the nerve to comment on what they’d read! Here’s the story that stunned me:
Bill Fish was texting his wife on breaks during a talent show at their children’s Cincinnati school when a woman seated next to him asked, ‘Are you married to Nicole Fish?’
Assuming the woman was trying to be friendly, Mr. Fish said he was, introduced himself and said, ‘Nice to meet you,’ he says.
‘Her next line to me was, ‘I saw that you’ve sent her two or three texts, so I just had to be sure you were actually her husband,’ says Mr. Fish, co-founder of Tuck, an online resource on sleep and related products.
Does anyone else find this disgraceful? Have people invaded your privacy in this way, and have they been obnoxious enough to say so? Doesn’t anyone have a sense of decorum anymore, or even embarrassment?
Published in Culture
You tell ’em, @hypatia! I’m with you!
This is why I don’t do client work on airplanes. If I absolutely positively have to, I try to make sure I am not reviewing document sections with identifying information, but it’s hard.
Back in the good old days, when the average flight was about 3/4 full and a frequent flyer had a fair chance at an upgrade it was different, but even then you’d catch people trying to figure out what you were working on. People are curious. But I’ve never had anyone snoop, and then have the nerve to comment on it to me. I would be tempted to open their bag and start pawing through it – “you don’t mind, do you – you seem shameless about the idea of reading my correspondence and speaking to me about it, so I figured you had no boundaries and I could satisfy my curiosity about what kind of person does that.”
On my way home from work today, I followed a truck that had the following bumper sticker:
GUNS don’t kill people; drivers on CELLPHONES kill people.
It’s all a matter of who you’re talking to. My family is close, sometimes obnoxiously so, and none of us (except probably my dad – we’re all afraid to ask) have any compunctions about talking to each other on the phone while on the pot. It would definitely be more polite to tell them I’ll call them back, but the reality is we’re all gross. If a toilet flushes, the victim usually lets out a big “eeeeew” while the perpetrator laughs. And yes, there’ve been one or two occasions one of us will have to say to the other “are you *peeing* right now?!?” while the other starts laughing. (Us ‘kids’ are all in our 50s, and my mom, who’s no better than we are, is 77. Sorry for the mental picture.)
We have no manners at all when it comes to family. That being said, though, not one of us would ever think to do any of that if it was someone other than close family on the other end. That would be rude. And more than a bit embarrassing…
Eeew
So, ever seen the stats on fecal matter found on cell phones?
My problem is people loudly talking about things that should be private while in public on their cell phones. I’ve been horrified at the conversations I’ve been forced to hear when trapped in some public place. This is why I’m convinced if the FAA ever allows calls on airplanes it will be a nightmare.
They sell them
This actually happened yesterday. I wandered into a public men’s room in a hospital and overheard a guy in one of the stalls discussing going out to dinner. “You wanna go somewhere nice but casual? What kind of wine do you like? Red wine? That’s good for your heart.” At that point he lets out a HUGE toilet fart, one with tons of echo and reverberation, then, as God as my witness, the next words out of his mouth were, “I’m very romantic“. I swear, he was putting the moves on a girl while dropping anchor in a public restroom. That’s one lucky lady.
Except, of course, if the shamed one is a conservative. Then shaming becomes a required duty.
Double ewww!
As someone who used to fly all the time, including international, after a while every flight is the same. And having those uninterrupted hours to get some good thinking work done was valuable. But the free drinks were certainly still enjoyed!
That reminds me, in modern Russian sitcoms situated in a public building, men and women use the same restroom. The stalls are private like ours, with their own doors, but the washing up area is mixed-sex. So there is opportunity for a guy in the stall to be eavesdropping on the women at the sink, etc. So I’m wondering if these types of restrooms exist anywhere in real life, or if it’s just a Russian thing, or what.
Which reminds me: One thing that makes American and Russian sitcoms work is that none of the characters has a sense of smell and nobody has any kind of peripheral vision.
Common all over Europe.
I can’t quite picture how she got a close enough view at normal social distance to see his screen that well during composition and sending. People usually hold phones flat to their own view, and have to willingly pass it to someone they are friendly with in order to reveal content, at least in my world.