Public spaces are under assault—from speakerphones.
Grocery stores, waiting rooms, transit seats, food courts—you name it—are now filled with private conversations made public by people holding their phones to their mouths like they’re eating a cookie. It’s loud, it’s rude and it’s everywhere. And it’s not just an annoyance: it’s a symptom of something much bigger, a growing epidemic of public coarseness and self-absorption.
When did we decide it was acceptable to treat every public setting like our personal living room? I don’t want to hear your call when I’m waiting for coffee or browsing the cereal aisle at the grocery store.
Your conversation is not important to me. Neither are your Reels, your FaceTime session or your kid’s favourite YouTube cartoon blaring out of your phone. Portable devices were never meant to be public broadcast systems. Yet here we are.
It’s not just the noise, though that’s bad enough. It’s the mindset behind it. Somewhere along the way, we stopped caring about how our actions affect other people. That lack of basic courtesy has morphed into something worse: entitlement.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve watched someone walk into a restaurant, order food and sit down, only to launch into a full-volume conversation on speakerphone. Or worse, they scroll through Instagram with the sound on, laughing out loud while ignoring the people around them. And let’s not forget the ones holding virtual meetings in cafés, oblivious to everyone else just trying to enjoy a quiet moment.
Somehow, this behaviour has become normal. But it’s more than just inconsiderate: it’s performative—a declaration of self-importance: “I matter. My conversation matters. You? Not so much.”
It’s a form of “main character” syndrome, where everyone else is seen as background noise. And when that’s your mindset, of course you ignore the people around you.
Even the excuses are weak. Some blame the phone itself—no headphone jack, they say. Yes, Apple ditched it in 2016. But wireless earbuds have been around for nearly a decade. If you don’t have them, step outside. You don’t get to disrupt a public space just because your tech choices are inconvenient.
We’ve reached the point where distraction has become the default. We pull out our phones the second boredom threatens. We doom-scroll through anxiety. We FaceTime because it’s easier than being alone with our thoughts. But just because we can doesn’t mean we should.
Even the phrase “I need to take this” has become a performance. We’ve convinced ourselves our conversations are urgent and essential. But let’s be honest: no one is listening. No one is impressed.
In a country where we apologize when someone else bumps into us, how did we end up yelling into speakerphones in a Tim Hortons lineup?
Sure, texting while driving is worse. It can kill. But the everyday erosion of manners and mutual respect matters too. It adds up. When we stop caring how our behaviour affects others, the concept of shared space starts to break down.
So no, I don’t want to hear about your son’s doctor’s appointment while we both reach for granola at Loblaw’s. I’m not here for your personal podcast. I’m just trying to get through the day without one more unnecessary blast of noise.
So out in your earbuds or, better yet, just wait.
Nick Kossovan is a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape and a self-described connoisseur of human psychology.
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