The theory I’ve heard is that people on reality TV shows would do this so the mics could pick up their conversations better. So naturally, brainless idiots without an original thought in their dense godforsaken skulls people who watch those shows started doing it in real life too because they saw popular people doing it on TV.
It’s just a theory, but it seems plausible because it’s clearly not how phones were designed to function on speakerphone or otherwise.
That’s where the trend is putting books spine first into a bookshelf came from too.
The tv producers don’t want to spend days asking for permission to use book spine graphics in the shot, not spend time blurring the film, so they flip the books around to hide all the spine art. It’s on HGTV a ton.
That one just makes me sad and angry. I try not to judge people, but I would judge the shit out of someone for doing that IRL.
If you find visual clutter distracting or upsetting, it’s a pretty useful trick to still be able to own a bunch of books. Alphabetize your books, and you can still find them. And most people I know can find their favorites even without that.
It’s kind of like getting mad at people who organize their books by color. If you’re a visual person, there’s a half decent chance you remember the color of the book rather than remembering the author’s name.
