Pictured here is a telephone operator at Mound Bayou, Mississippi. This was a new job 1900.  Would you like to have a job like this one? An operator like this could listen in on any conversation she chose, I believe. (This woman doesn’t look like she would be guilty of such a deed)

NYPL

I don’t think I would enjoy a job like this, despite the cool equipment. People have a right to privacy.

I wouldn’t be tempted to listen in on anyone. Among other reasons,  I’m sure my inner world would shatter if it came into too close contact with the real world.