Loud annoying mobiles
April 13, 2004
No, I'm not just being narky after a hectic bank holiday weekend, it's official and has been scientifically tested - mobile phones are annoying.
Jacob Nielsen writes about the research carried out by Andrew Monk and his colleagues in the University of York into why it's so annoying when people have mobile conversations in public.
You know the ones - brrinng bring....Yeah I'm on the bus. Yeah. No. Really? . .. and so on, with the person not embarrassed to share the inconsequential nature of their lives with others.
The research was conducted in a rather unique way, and it came to the conclusion that it's not the ring tones that bother us. Nor is it to do with how loud the person is speaking.
The real reason we find it so tiresome is because we pay more attention when we only hear half a conversation! It's easier to tune out the sound of 2 people droning on face to face, than the sound of 1 person talking!