That's an insane reason. Just by being in the same room as other people you expose yourself to more germs than you would by touching a used and cleaned phone.
I have seen news reports of studies done by public-health researchers who worry about computer keyboards and phones after measurements showed surprisingly high numbers germs on these items.
It might be that the researchers were worried only about germs that can survive for only a few days or cannot survive the type of cleaning achievable without completely disassembling the phone, but it is not obvious to me that that is the case. For example, one hears about these biofilms that allow germs to survive for very long times.
What are your reasons for believing that just being in the same room as other people exposes a person to more germs?
