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Comment by ceejayoz | Hacker News Reader

Do you similiarly object when they turn to the family member in the next seat over and hold a conversation?

Human ears have much better dynamic range than whatever crappy microphones are built into phones. Thus, when people are sitting next to each other in a public space, they can typically whisper, or talk just above the noise floor. This is as opposed to phones, which posses an uncanny ability to cause people to yell at the top of their lungs.

While that may be true about dynamic range, I don't think that's the reason.

There is no feedback whether they are talking too quietly or too loudly.

My phone will pick up my voice if I whisper as well as if I yell, and the person on the other end will be able to hear either just fine. People just have a hunk of metal that they hold up to the side of their face (not really in front of their mouth), so they think they need to compensate.

If the TV ads for phones showed people whispering into their phone and advertising how good the microphones and noise canceling is, then we might not have this problem, but they don't.

I think it’s well documented how annoying hearing just one side of a conversation is.

Beyond this, yes it’s rude to talk at length on a plane to other people on a long haul flight, for example. I mean I get it but flying is by default a stressful experience as is.

Overhearing half a conversation is much worse worse than overhearing a full conversation. Overhearing conversations doesn't bother me but overhearing half of a telephone conversation drives me up a wall and makes me want to get out of wherever I am, which on a plane, isn't possible.

I feel like people have the good sense not to have loud conversations on flights. But if the option _is there_ and folks are expected to now join video calls from the sky, etiquette and sense might take a back seat.

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