Cell Phone/Texting Rudeness

[jaxsue]

This is something that really upsets me, but my family seems to disagree - what do you guys think?

If I am watching something on tv, and a cell goes off, a family member just picks up and either walks over to where I am watching and starts talking, or is already sitting there and just picks up their cell and doesn't move from the couch.  I find that to be rude to me since that means I can either turn off the tv, turn down the volume for their sake and strain to hear, or be passive aggressive and turn up the volume until the phone user gets up to leave.  Ok not the last one really, but you get the idea.  I usually ask them if they can go to another room and the person who picks up the phone usually gives me this pained look like they are shocked that they have to get up and leave - Am I unreasonable or are they?

I vote they are rude, but we live in a time when people seem unable/unwilling to not be constantly tethered to their gadgets so I may be in the minority.  Honestly, though, whatever happened to basic manners? This is a no-brainer to me.

As for watching a TV show, I recently cut cable...completely. So if I watch a show it has to be in real time (just like when I was a kid, imagine that!). No TIVO, no DVR. So the person taking the phone call has to talk somewhere else.

[princessdolly]

This is something that really upsets me, but my family seems to disagree - what do you guys think?

If I am watching something on tv, and a cell goes off, a family member just picks up and either walks over to where I am watching and starts talking, or is already sitting there and just picks up their cell and doesn't move from the couch.  I find that to be rude to me since that means I can either turn off the tv, turn down the volume for their sake and strain to hear, or be passive aggressive and turn up the volume until the phone user gets up to leave.  Ok not the last one really, but you get the idea.  I usually ask them if they can go to another room and the person who picks up the phone usually gives me this pained look like they are shocked that they have to get up and leave - Am I unreasonable or are they?

I vote they are rude, but we live in a time when people seem unable/unwilling to not be constantly tethered to their gadgets so I may be in the minority.  Honestly, though, whatever happened to basic manners? This is a no-brainer to me.

As for watching a TV show, I recently cut cable...completely. So if I watch a show it has to be in real time (just like when I was a kid, imagine that!). No TIVO, no DVR. So the person taking the phone call has to talk somewhere else.

I just hold the remote at arms length and turn the volume up. Slowly. While staring at them.

It gets my point across. 

[rachellenore]

I don't like it when people interrupt a conversation with an unrelated text/call, or when they have just arrived at a destination with you and immediately whip out the phone like they're already bored.

I had a friend whom I considered a best friend for most of middle school and high school, though it started to wane in our senior year. In college we had a class together, she would drive me, and we would hang out afterwards to eat lunch/shop then take me back home. After only about a month of having this class together, she would spend a majority of our lunch together talking on her phone or texting people. It was at that point I realized that I would not make plans with her again after this class ended. We've barely talked since, and I feel like we both benefit from our Facebook-like/small comment-only relationship.

[twiggy]

I have a couple more to add.

1. If you're at a store and need to check out, end your conversation, or at the very least, put them on hold and interact with the cashier. You know, treat them like a human being.

2. If I am on the phone with you, pay attention to the conversation. My SIL is terrible about this. I will call to talk to her, then when her husband walks in the door, she'll ask me to "hang on a minute" then have a side conversation with her DH. The worst part is that I can hear the conversation and it's usually something trivial, like did he see that she bought cookies, or the car needs gas, etc. I finally started hanging up on her if she leaves me hanging for over 2 minutes.

3. I hate call waiting. It really makes me feel like the b-list conversation when you say there's another call coming in and then leave me on hold for 5-10 min.

[Calypso]

Twiggy, I'm going to count yours as 4, 5 and 6 and add a #7, which I just heard because my sweetie is listening to Discover magazine on talking book:


7) 55% of heart-lung machine technicians text or talk on their cellphones during open heart surgery.....in the same survey, most of them answered "yes" to "is it dangerous to a patient to use your cell phone during surgery?"

As someone with a heart, I really, really wish I hadn't heard this stat. 

[Venus193]

That is beyond frightening and straight out of the insane asylum.  I thought cell phones were inherently dangerous to the equipment and were banned from these areas.

[cabbagegirl28]

That is beyond frightening and straight out of the insane asylum.  I thought cell phones were inherently dangerous to the equipment and were banned from these areas.

Newer cell phones don't mess with medical equipment. That doesn't make me feel any better about those techs' behavior, but at least it won't mess the equipment up.

[Venus193]

I was thinking of that, too.  Cell phones should be banned from those situations.

[Twik]

I think people have been in some way addicted to the phones. Medical techs using them while doing their job should be put into some sort of rehab, and if they still can't leave the things off while working, they should be relieved of such duties.

[hannahmollysmom]

Sometimes I think of cell phone use as an addiction too. I'm older and I survived without being in constant contact with people via phone. In fact, most of the time I use mine as a watch as I don't wear one!

My personal cell does not work well at work due to the tech equipment surrounding me. Of course, I don't own a smart phone. My co-workers are constantly getting calls on their phones. (they are much younger than me) It aggravates me as it takes away from their job. My family knows not to contact me at work unless it is an emergency, and they have my work number. i.e. co-worker's girlfriend calls every night and he has to go off into another room for a 1/2 hour conversation. I can't say anything to my boss as he is addicted to his phone too. It just seems that the phone takes priority over everything else.