How would you handle someone peeking into your phone?

We all love privacy. This privacy goes beyond the desire of wanting to be alone. Most people extend it to their smart phones and devices. But when that privacy is surreptitiously invaded, how do we handle it?

I was in a cab some days ago and while trying to send a message via WhatsApp, I noticed that a fellow passenger was stretching his neck to peek into my phone.

When I turned to look at him, he noticed that my face was expressionless. Then he quickly shifted his gaze to another direction; I was mad.

As humans, it is only natural to want to satisfy our curiosity about things. However, when it goes beyond the ‘normal’ curiosity, it becomes a problem. But then, if you were in my shoes, how would you have reacted?

Josephine Ansambe, a Jos resident, told LifeXtra “I’ll turn around and look at the person without saying a word but my look will be asking ‘what is wrong with you’?”

Plangnan Nanman Sambo, married, responded thus “I’ll turn and give them that ‘how may I help you’ look.”

Glory Uche, an Abuja-based entrepreneur, had a contrary opinion. “Well, If I’m sitting in a place where I can change my sitting position, I’ll do that quietly but I would have told the person my mind,” she said.

Edor Jonathan said he would shout at the person and give him/her a stern warning to mind their business.

“Why would anyone want to see what I am doing with my phone? How does what I am doing concern that person? In fact, I’ll give the person a very stern and sound warning never to try it because he/she is invading my privacy.”

An Abuja-based estate agent, Msugh Benjamin, says “No one likes anyone peeking into their phones. It’s even worse when it’s a stranger. But unfortunately, that’s the kind of society we live in. People no longer mind their businesses. A lot of them are meddlesome and want to know what goes on in other peoples’ lives, even when it doesn’t concern them. Again, some may be fraudsters trying to look for a way to defraud. Well, for me, I’d tell you unequivocally never to peek into my phone or gadget. What I do is none of your business.”

According to an article ‘Why you can’t stop peeking into someone else’s phone’, published in an online site www.timesknowledge.in, Shoulder surfing is a behavioural pattern where you find yourself peeking over the shoulders of strangers you come across in public areas, especially on public transport. But is it with malicious intent?

“Nobody really likes the idea of someone peeping into their phone, especially a stranger. Phone screens are everywhere, one to three feet away, depending on the size of the smartphone. They are in lifts, theatres, public transport, in queues, etc. They give us a peek into that moment of a stranger’s life – an understanding of their likes and choices.

“But, while you are busy reading a text message while shoulder surfing, don’t forget to look over your shoulder; someone is perhaps quietly judging your playlist.”