Again I will admit that our company actively discourage via SOP to not use the other box at all when in a busy ATC environment. Turn the bloody thing off and concentrate on the order of owns own house first.
Why do we need to listen to 121.50 over places such as Europe? So you hear an aircraft in distress, are we all meant to become AWACS fighting for the chance to be hero and sort the fella out. Let the authorities sort it, and if they need a passing airliners help, they can get the sector controller to ask a pilot to listen to a discreet frequency etc. So maybe just maybe with all this "innane" chatter by amateurs is stopping 70% of airliners from listening, the other 30% will keep watch nicely. EPIRB/ELT thingies stop using 121.50 to transmit soon anyway so thats that device off the frequency. So other than a lost rookie or a crashed aircraft calling from the Welsh hillside in fog (unlikely), there ain't much in my mind that we can assist with. Unless of course, you are over the Pond and such places - thats different.
To add weight to my argument, I may have an ATPL, but since allowing many PPL's to have a go, I have learnt many of the attributes and limitations of the D&D system.
I am getting hacked off with the amount of missed calls on a busy sector frequency whilst the controller gets heated and I await to press the tit. Maybe its cos all these boys n girls are to busy trying to do too many things at once. Look after yourself first chaps, then think of others, as I think we are getting our priorities mixed up here.