Important: Why do people hold their phone to their mouth like a sandwich? 0 7

Weather, results of the recent championship, the dollar or euro exchange rate — these are the most standard record holders of queries in the Google search bar. But there are also atypical ones that concern millions of users just as much. Among them is the question about the strange position of the mobile phone that some passersby, especially young people, use while talking, as noted by Grani.

You have probably seen these people too: they walk down the street, holding the phone to their mouth edge-on, parallel to the ground and perpendicular to their head, as if they are about to eat it immediately. And, of course, you have also wondered: why do they do that?

It is noteworthy that in the search engine, where puzzled individuals turn for explanations, the question varies according to national mentality. Italians ask why some hold the phone "like a pizza." The English inquire why some hold the phone "like the French." Russians wonder why some hold the phone like "a merchant holds a saucer with tea"? But overall, all the questioners find this position strange and illogical.

Since artificial intelligence does not know the answer and mumbles something vague, contradicting itself, the quest for truth moves to social networks. And it suddenly turns out: as many people, as many versions.

Here is how it looks on the forum ixbt.com. In response to the question "People who hold the device perpendicular to their skull, reveal the secret, why do you do that?" the following answers were given:

• "This trend started with ladies who heavily apply makeup to their faces, so as not to leave marks on the phone (as one of them told me) — makeup clogs the speaker near the ear."

• "Students finally explained to me why people now hold their phones so strangely. If a person holds the phone perpendicular to their ear, as if they want to stick it into their head, it means they forgot their headphones. And at that moment, they are listening to a voice message through the speaker. This way, they can hear well, and there is some privacy."

• "This is a happy owner of a model that does not allow covering the upper third of the screen. Such a phone starts screaming even if you place a piece of paper on the screen, let alone bring it to your ear. I was shown this today. iPhones do not have this problem."

• "Phones are held this way by show-offs. Have you seen how guns/automatics are held in movies? It's also a show-off — in reality, you can't hit anything that way and you’ll injure your wrist! But they still hold it that way! The same goes for the phone — it's uncomfortable, but it looks cool."

• "Wow, I’m in the know. Recently, I have been unconsciously tilting my mobile away from my ear — so that my ear or cheek does not touch the touchscreen. Otherwise, I always end up pressing something, and either the speakerphone turns on or it hangs up."

• "Maybe it’s time to fix the phone? Normal phones have the touchscreen disabled when brought to the ear."

• "No, the girl is right: among the currently popular Xiaomi, there is a common problem – the proximity sensor does not work, and the screen does not lock when you bring it to your ear."

Here are some versions proposed in discussions on the Reddit platform:

• "A while ago, there was a rumor that holding the phone near your head, right by your ear, causes brain tumors. So I know a couple of people who got worried about this and started looking for ways to use their phones without putting them to their ear."

• "It’s simple: in that position, the phone works better. I hear less 'what was that, repeat again' from the other side."

• "When you need to dictate a voice message in a messenger, people hold the device like a saucer and dictate into the microphone on the bottom edge. They completely ignore that there may be several microphones and that there is no need to hold the phone that way. The main thing is that in their minds, this is the way to dictate messages."

• "My sister does that, and when I asked her about it, she said she can’t hold the phone by her ear because she has earrings, and the stones in the earrings scratch the screen."

• "My mom does that; she says her head hurts from the phone when she puts it to her ear like a regular phone."

• "Because these people are idiots. There’s a whole series of South Park about this."

• "This is a European style of talking on the phone. Our Ukrainian women saw it and now do it too."

• "This is purely a French manner of holding the phone. I don’t understand why some of our British copy them."

• "Arabs do this, and there are many of them here in France. But why French youth imitates them is a mystery to me."

• "In China, everyone holds the phone like this because they constantly record audio messages in WeChat."

• "In Egypt, I have friends, and many of them talk exactly like this: they hold the phone microphone to their mouth and don’t listen while they speak. Why? Try to interrupt them while they’re expressing themselves."

• "In Russia, many people talk like this. I heard an explanation: so that the hellish cellular radiation doesn’t melt the delicate brain of a humanitarian."

• "I always do it this way too. Modern short phones don’t reach the mouth with the microphone and pick up a lot of external noise from the street. In that position, I give the interlocutor clear sound."

• "It’s simple: messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp, or Viber) and fast mobile internet are the reasons. Now many replace regular conversations with exchanging voice messages. And when recording them, you only need the smartphone’s microphone, which is best held right in front of the lips for better recording quality."

• "Many people wear regular headphones instead of phone plugs. Through such headphones, you can hear the interlocutor well, but there’s no microphone, so they hold the phone microphone to their mouth."

• "In-depth studies have shown: the original use of the 'sandwich' grip was recorded in the reality show 'Dom-2', and others copy it."

• "People who hold their phones like this used to talk a lot on the radio."

And finally: gesture expert Hilly Marshall believes that the position in which you hold your phone while talking can say a lot about your character.

Those who love to hold their phone horizontally have an excessive sense of self-importance and egoism. Such people are big fans of loud conversations, the goal of which is to attract as much attention from outsiders as possible. Typically, this category of individuals is deeply convinced that their opinion is authoritative and significant.

If a person holds the mobile phone with both hands and simultaneously types text with their thumbs, you can be sure that you are facing a true workaholic who values their time and knows how to tackle several tasks at once.

If a phone user holds the device with both hands but types with one thumb, according to the expert, they possess neatness, composure, and attentiveness. However, there are also those who hold the phone with one hand and type with the index finger of the other. This category of people is impossible to provoke or offend with a random word.

And how do you hold your phone? Do you agree that conclusions can be drawn about your character from this?