Devices Enforce Silence Of Cellphones

[the carlos]

I know.

[EL the Famous]

they do make it easier to remind your spouse or significant other to pick up bread and/or toilet paper as they make their way home from work.

 

or get your spouse out of a meeting to tell them you are spotting in your thrid month of preganancy and that you need to get out of your meeting and home ASAP so you can get her to the doctor.

 

or so a nurse can inform your spouse that instead doing the c-section in a half an hour, they are going into the delivery room in 10 minutes and you need to get her suitcase ASAP and get your ass back to the hospital.

 

what jorge said. if someone wants to tell me that the bad of a 1-2 minute annoyance in a movie outweighs the good these things can provide...i'll tell them they need to get a life and worry about something worthwhile. again, accountability is on the owner of the device and to block everyone's cell because a few people don't know how to be socially adept is sad.

[cryptique]

what jorge said. if someone wants to tell me that the bad of a 1-2 minute annoyance in a movie outweighs the good these things can provide...i'll tell them they need to get a life and worry about something worthwhile. again, accountability is on the owner of the device and to block everyone's cell because a few people don't know how to be socially adept is sad.

Accountability is in pretty short supply these days. Have you been to a movie lately?

 

I agree that it would be sad to block everyone's phone because of a few people, but it really has gotten to that point. I suspect that theaters are losing business because of these idiots, and blocking cellular transmissions would be good for the box office, so why shouldn't they pursue a legal means of doing so?

[Guest Speed Racer]

The extent to which cell phones actually *save* people is extremely, extremely minute. Like, trapped under a collapsed bridge/stuck in a burning building minute. Cell phones console people (El's post), and cell phones make it easier for people to do social things whilst waiting to save people (a la neurosurgeons on call).

 

Cell phones are by no means necessary for the vast number of people who use them (like guns and cars, let's say), have been known to cause accidents (like guns and cars, let's say), and perhaps ought to be regulated in a similar manner (like rules and laws, let's say).

 

I think we're at a crossroads where a lot of people have access to a technology that is by-and-large unregulated in the public arena. I don't think I agree with covert signal blocking, but I don't see why establishments that clearly post their intentions (similar to 'no smoking' and gun banning signs) should not be allowed to block the signals of their staff and visitors.

[EL the Famous]

Accountability is in pretty short supply these days. Have you been to a movie lately? I agree that it would be sad to block everyone's phone because of a few people, but it really has gotten to that point.

 

yes I have and in a few, maybe one cellphone has gone off and it lasts all of 30-45 seconds. no offense, but it think part of the problem is how easily annoyed some people are and how they let something so trivial ruin an entire movie for them. i think shit gets amped up by people on here sometimes...like during the course of a film there are 20-30 cellphones that go off in syphony and people are having 10 minute conversations on each of them.

 

that said, i agree accountability is in pretty short supply these days...because we keep relinquishing people of it. i expect people to turn the cell on vibrate and walk outside the theatre shoudl they need to take a call or, if it's really that intrusive to my enjoyment of the movie, I'LL take accountability to tell them to shut the fuck up.

 

also, 'emergencies' don't always constitute 'saving' someone's life and i'd be interested to see the actual data of those have been 'saved' by a cellphone is 'minute'. i'm not disagreeing that a mojority of folks use it as a convenience, but people brushing it off as a completely useless or trivial device make me laugh. i laugh even harder when someone compares cellphone related accidents/deaths to gun and/or automobile related deaths...apples/oranges.

[Spawn's dad]

Computers are by no means necessary for the vast number of people who use them (like guns and cars, let's say)

 

I missed the memo where cars weren't necessary. Lets take them away and move everyone into your neighborhood, ok? How many roommates are you in for? I'll put you down for 40.

 

 

Accountability is in pretty short supply these days. Have you been to a movie lately?

 

I've never seen someone talk on a phone in a movie theater.

 

 

 

While I'm not a fan of having a cell phone it does allow me to be outdoors (often) when I'd outwise have to be reachable for work or because my son is in school. Couldn't very well disappear for a five hour ride and have him laid up in the nurse's office. I have to agree that it seems the real issue has nothing to do with cell phones or even the actions of others, but at how intolerant we've become over what we perceive as annoying people.

[austrya]

I don't think cell phones are the reason people don't go to movies anymore.

 

It's too expensive.

 

I can just wait a couple of months and get it in the mail from Blockbuster.

[Guest Speed Racer]

I missed the memo where cars weren't necessary. Lets take them away and move everyone into your neighborhood, ok? How many roommates are you in for? I'll put you down for 40.

 

The car/gun analogy was not the best pre-bed analogy I've come up with, but my point was to illustrate that these two items do benefit from being regulated, and I believe the phone would as well.

 

That being said, neither of you commented on whether my 'No Cell' signs in establishments proposal was a decent idea. El - if your workplace were a 'No Cell' environment, or the place where your wife was at the time was 'No Cell,' would that have kept her from reaching you in the same time frame? She would know ahead of time that she could not reach your cell at work, and would have the appropriate number. If she were, say, at a coffee shop, she easily could have used their phone under those circumstances to reach you at work. If she were in a pasture with sheep and cell service, she could have reached you promptly.

 

As for apples/oranges - a friend of mine was accordianed on a freeway between a cell-using driver and a semi. The cell user wasn't paying attention when the traffic stopped, and rear ended her. My friend was fine, but was also rather lucky. Cell phones facilitate multitasking, but they do not necessarily facilitate succesful multitasking. I can't say that I particularly support the idea of driving and talking. Hands-free? I don't know. But actual phones? Probably not.

 

But let's say you flip your car off a freeway. You're not just stranded, you're terrified. Use your phone? Hell yes.

 

And what is a stand-alone cell phone related accident? Did you think I was talking about people who impale others with cell phones? People whose earpieces get stuck in their canals? All cell phone related accidents I know of *have* involved cars, bikes, or even runner/pedestrian collisions. It's not apples and oranges when both are involved.

 

And don't think I'm dumb enough to not see the cell phone's merit. I own a cell phone, and the ringer is almost always off, unless I'm expecting a call (or in some cases, IF I'm expecting a call). I don't take it in to restaurants with me (I don't happen to go to movies), and I *never* have it on at work. Everyone who needs to knows my office number. Do I think they are trivial? Hell no - I don't have a landline. I simply think that phones ought to be regulated more in the public arena (or rather, that the choice to regulate should exist).

 

I fear the idea of allowing phone use on airplanes, if only because of DPS (Deaf on Phone Syndrome), that nasty affliction that causes people to shout because they can't hear the other person very well. That, however, can be dealt with/endured the same way one deals with the asshole who puts their seat back so that their bald spot is in your lap.

[Guest Speed Racer]

iPods, cell phones: Deadly distractions

 

From today's MPLS Star Tribune, attributing the cause of an accident to a hand-held device (either an iPod or a cell phone).

[dixiecupdrinker]

I've never seen someone talk on a phone in a movie theater.

 

Really? I can't seem to escape this. I could've strangled the bee otch who insisted on talking through American Gangster the other night. I got to the point where out of frustration with her rudeness for not taking her important call out into the lobby that I pretty loudy said, "Are you f*cking kidding me? Take it outside!". I know her rudeness didn't excuse mine, but for what I pay to go see a movie now and then, I at least expect to be able to watch it with little distraction.

 

Now I wish I could do something about the two old milkshakes who always seem to sit behind me and insist on narrating...

 

 

dcd

[cryptique]

I don't think cell phones are the reason people don't go to movies anymore.

 

It's too expensive.

Yes -- too expensive for me to have it disrupted by inconsiderate idiots. I would gladly pay the $10 (or whatever it is now) to see an occasional film in the theater IF there were a chance I could enjoy it without disruption.

 

but for what I pay to go see a movie now and then, I at least expect to be able to watch it with little distraction.

(As I was saying)

 

Now I wish I could do something about the two old milkshakes who always seem to sit behind me and insist on narrating...

...and this is my other major problem with going to movies these days. I think people have gotten so accustomed to talking back to the TV in the privacy of their own homes that they can't turn that off when they're in a theater.

[Sir Stewart]

I have been to the movies once where someone actually talked on their phone during the movie. it was Private Parts. What was that, 97?

[jenbobblehead]

i wish there was a device that hushes children in restaurants, movie theatres and any other enclosed space (plane, train etc)

[Atticus]

i wish there was a device that hushes children in restaurants, movie theatres and any other enclosed space (plane, train etc)

 

you can borrow the backside of my hand anytime

[ZenLunatic]

While I'm not a fan of having a cell phone it does allow me to be outdoors (often) when I'd outwise have to be reachable for work or because my son is in school. Couldn't very well disappear for a five hour ride and have him laid up in the nurse's office. I have to agree that it seems the real issue has nothing to do with cell phones or even the actions of others, but at how intolerant we've become over what we perceive as annoying people.

 

The problem isnt cell phones themselves, they are the greatest thing. They allow for so much ease and comfort. The problem isnt tolerance. The problem is the actions of others and the lack of respect to the people around you and whats going on at the moment. Its about your mind being where your body is. When you are somewhere, be there. Kinda like talking during a concert.

 

When I see someone in line at the grocery store staring into to nothing yapping away on the bluetooth while he or she is getting checked without paying any attention to the clerk, thats just plain rude. If you think thats acceptable, you are lost.

 

I can understand emergencies, but these arent emergencies. Dont fool yourself of being that important.

 

Cell phones add a great deal of ease into our lives, so like all other powerful tool, they should get the respect they deserve. Dont abuse this power.

[watch me fall]

you can borrow the backside of my hand anytime

Either that or a muzzle works pretty well, or so I've heard.

[caliber66]

I know her rudeness didn't excuse mine

I'd say it did.

[JUDE]

When I see someone in line at the grocery store staring into to nothing yapping away on the bluetooth while he or she is getting checked without paying any attention to the clerk, thats just plain rude. If you think thats acceptable, you are lost.

 

I can understand emergencies, but these arent emergencies. Dont fool yourself of being that important.

 

I'm not delusional about my own importance, but if you think that the grocery clerk is paying attention to you or even remembers that you exist five minutes after you leave the store, "Dont fool yourself of being that important".

[OOO]

When I see someone in line at the grocery store staring into to nothing yapping away on the bluetooth while he or she is getting checked without paying any attention to the clerk, thats just plain rude. If you think thats acceptable, you are lost.

 

I can understand emergencies, but these arent emergencies. Dont fool yourself of being that important.

 

 

[quote name='JUDE

[JUDE]

If either of you think I actually read through your posts...

 

Don't fool yourself of being that important.

 

You're going down, bear dude.

[EL the Famous]

i wish there was a device that hushes children in restaurants, movie theatres and any other enclosed space (plane, train etc)

 

there is...they're called headphones. an even better device is something called 'good parents'. even better than that is something called 'life is too short to let yourself be bothered so damn much by an instance that is a drop in the pool that is your entire lifetime.'

 

as far as the accident thing and regulation of cellphones...again, there are laws in place in a lot of states that regulate use of handheld devices in automobiles. they aren't always enforced, but they are there. as far as an establishment putting up a sign...sure, why not. every movie i've been to over the last 5 years or longer does just that during the previews...on a HUGE screen. it all comes down to whether people obey them or not...again, the person, not the device.

 

I also need to comment on the 'nobody is that important' comment that keeps coming up. Maybe some people, like The Maker, don't have a job where they need to be that accessible...but a lot of folks do.

 

I was away from a weekend w/out my laptop and an issue came up at our distribution facility w/ a product we were getting ready to launch. Had they not been able to get a hold of me, they wouldn't have been able to ship to our customer on time and we would have been penalized by thousands and thousands of dollars. Also, as someone who deals w/ co-workers in Asia, having a phone that gets email as well has allowed me to address issues as they come up no matter where i'm at and save days of lost time and money that can be lost via different timezones.

 

i'm not saying i'm more important than anybody, but (again) to completely shrug off their importance to some folks outside of grocery store visits is crazy. also, parlaying your own personal lack of need for one into some sort of superiority trip is even more egotistical than those who think they ARE important just for having one. good for you.

[ZenLunatic]

If either of you think I actually read through your posts...

 

Don't fool yourself of being that important.

 

Dont copy my lines.

[ZenLunatic]

[quote name='JUDE

[EL the Famous]

You are out of your mind.

[JUDE]

If you do what I just gave an example of, then rationalize all you want and do what you want then. You're the one that's lost.

 

I rarely use my phone, and not once while in line at the grocery store, but I stand by my statement that the checkout girls are vaguely aware of the customers presence during the transaction, and completely forget about them seconds later.

 

P.S. My phone has a GPS/Tom Tom built in so I am rarely lost.