Social Question

Kraigmo's avatar

Why do people bother playing music out-loud on their phones? The speaker is so tinny. What's the point?

Asked by Kraigmo (9055points) January 23rd, 2010

I’ve noticed that Iphones and similar phones now are able to play music without headphones needed. And now lots of cell phone users are listening to their favorite MP3s just by putting their phone on a table and turning the music on.

But the thing is… these phones have tiny, tinny, transistor-type speakers…. and now people blast out Lady Gaga or whoever they’re into. The speaker-quality is shitty, but cell-phone addicts seem to not mind that at all.

Why do so many people find comfort in shitty-sounding music? If Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Brother Ali, (or whoever) provides such great musical enjoyment, why do people seem fine to just pervert the whole thing with tiny speakers? Usually people are near computers where they can plug in some really good speakers and get some true musical enjoyment… but most people with I-phones seem to actually enjoy shitty quality music?

Why?

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16 Answers

marinelife's avatar

Because they can.

Lightlyseared's avatar

Because someone hasn’t punched them I’m the face and told them to stop yet.

plethora's avatar

Agreed with all three…

ChocolateReigns's avatar

I think because it’s more convenient than any other option.

Bugabear's avatar

Because they’re actually using the speakerphone. Sure the quality isnt as good what it’s more comfortable than wearing earbuds and you can share your music with those around you.

plethora's avatar

@Bugabear Why would anyone presume that I or anyone else would want to participate in listening to their music? Everyone has different tastes.

DominicX's avatar

I don’t do that. I’m not “audiophile” or anything, but I do have an inkling of standards for sound. If I want music, I’ll listen to it so that it actually sounds good to me. That includes car stereo, headphones/earphones, or out loud on desktop speakers or a home stereo system.

jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities's avatar

Honestly, I think it comes down to bragging more than anything else. People have to say “Check out my awesome phone”, and see if anyone else likes their taste in music. It’s always annoying, and nobody wants to hear another persons music through the speaker on their phone. Earbuds aren’t that uncomfortable, so don’t make everyone else suffer.

Ansible1's avatar

I don’t have an iPhone or listen Lady Gaga but I reserve the blasting of music through my cell phone for when I’m in the shower.

babaji's avatar

this thing with “sharing” music has been around since teen agers were invented.
In boom boxes and especially cars with those 1000 watt systems blasting bass while the whole car rattles along with the beat. Drives me crazy, and now tiny speaker distortion hits our ears which makes my right eardrum rattle a bit as well.

ChocolateReigns's avatar

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities Ugg I know…people that brag about their phones drive me nuts. There’s this one really immature 7th-grade boy that I know that is always saying stuff like “My phone is a 2.0 and yours is a 1.9! hahaha!” ugg. But now I’m raging and I should probably stop..

Bugabear's avatar

@ Because usually people who do are with friends. And sometimes but not always friends have the same taste in music.

Nullo's avatar

@DominicX
Says the guy who won’t switch to VLC because he’s gotten the equalizer on Winamp juuuust the way he wants it. :D

I suppose that if you’re playing the music to a group, it would have a function; one day I was taking the train home from school, and much to my creeping horror, I found myself sharing a car with a number of youths that had clustered around a music-playing phone and were chanting eerily along with the crap rap that issued from it.
Listening to music with low-fidelity hardware is a personal choice, but forcing everybody else to endure it is criminal.

Kraigmo's avatar

If one is forced to use a speakerphone by circumstance… the least they could do is play some old, salty, crusty, low-fi, acoustic song from the 1920s.

That way, the sound quality of the iPhone will match the sound quality of the recorded music, instead of totally destroying the quality.

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