If it’s trending in Britain, you can be sure it’s happening all over. British telecom company O2 surveyed 2000 people about casual eavesdropping. If you don’t have a “Cone of Silence”, you may need to heed their warning.

Here are some of the results from O2‘s survey:

  • Over 80 per cent of Brits admit to eavesdropping on other people’s phone conversations while on a train or platform
  • Nearly 9 in 10 think that people have no reservations while talking on the phone in public
  • 60 per cent of Brits think people would benefit from some kind of etiquette guide when it comes to talking on the phone whilst using public transport
  • O2 has produced the very first public transport mobile phone etiquette guide to help Brits use their phone considerately

Maxwell Smart’s Cone of Silence

 

84 per cent of people admitted to listening in on their fellow commuters’ phone conversations while on a train or platform.

The discussions taking place can be so intriguing that six out of ten (59 per cent) Brits would rather eavesdrop than listen to music or read. Furthermore, 10 per cent of respondents have actually missed their stop because they were so engrossed in what they were overhearing.

O2 commissioned the survey to help the UK use apps in a considerate and responsible manner. The survey revealed that callers often unwittingly reveal some of the most intimate details of their lives to perfect strangers around them – everything from the details of their salary through to their personal lives.

Top conversations most likely to be heard:

  1. Discussing work gossip or salary (48 per cent)
  2. Closing an important business deal (35 per cent)
  3. Talking about hospital or doctor results (23 per cent)
  4. Relationship breakups (17 per cent)
  5. Intimate details of their personal life (13 per cent)

As a result of overhearing something they shouldn’t have, almost three quarters (74 per cent) of people admitted to sharing the conversation with their friends, with 40 per cent going as far as publishing a social media post revealing the details.

As a result of the findings, O2  offers ten helpful tips on how to use your phone considerately when on public transport.

Phone etiquette guide.

Their second rule, Remember Everyone Can Hear You,
should be followed by the warning: No one should overhear the details of your business ventures.

We previously reported how former CIA director Michael Hayden had his phone conversation live-tweeted by an eavesdropper while he was riding on the Acela train between DC and Boston. Don’t let this happen to you.
When having confidential conversations, always consider your surroundings and who could be listening.

And if you really need to talk aloud, you could consider the Veasyble Privacy Shell, a personal Cone of Silence:

Veasyble Privacy Shell, www.veasyble.com/project.html

Perhaps wearing it could be the punishment for anyone caught revealing business details through their public phone conversations.