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Ring! Ring! Ring!
By Meg | October 8, 2007
Most people know to turn off their cellphones during movies, class, worship services, funerals, weddings, etc. - they just occasionally forget. As a result, even the most somber, hallowed occasions frequently interrupted by the annoying sound of cellphone ringers. Usually, the guilty person rushes to silence their phone with a red face. Usually.
It still amazes me how many people see no problem with carrying on conversations in completely inappropriate places. I’m a lot more tolerant of this than I used to be. I don’t mind if someone talks on the phone at a casual restaurant if they keep their volume the same or less than if they were talking to someone across the table from them. However, I actually try to avoid going to the movie theater during peak times to avoid the rude people who yack on their cellphones during the movie, ruining the movie for everyone else who paid to see it. They obviously think that the “Turn Cellphones Off” signs don’t apply to them.
One of the worst tales of cellphone abuse comes from a friend who told me about what happened in one of her college classes. The phone of the girl sitting next to her rang during the middle of class. The girl picked up the phone and started yacking while the teacher and the rest of the class stared dumbfounded. My friend made several “she’s not with me” gestures. Finally the teacher came over and asked the girl to put the phone away. The girl raised her finger and said, “Just a minute.” Unfortunately, I don’t know what became of the rude girl, but let’s just say that she’s lucky that I wasn’t the teacher.
So please, remember to turn your phones to vibrate or silent when you enter into a situation where it would be rudely distracting to others - unless you forever want to be known as that rude person who thinks that the rules don’t apply to them.
Tags: Etiquette
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October 8th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
The cell phone.. what a double-edged sword this little convenience is.
October 8th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Agreed!
October 8th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
I’ve been noticing lately a big trend when someone isn’t talking on their cellphone, they play music through it for themselves or their friends. It feels like the 80s ghettoblaster days, except now it is in horrible tinny phone sound. blech!
October 8th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
I second that blech!
October 11th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Ring, Ring, Ring: In my Church, if a cell phone rings during Mass, our Pastor always embarrasses the rude cell phone owner by saying, “I hope that’s God calling”. Works wonders.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
I bet it does ;)
November 25th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Gah! I’ve overheard people talking loud on their cell, yacking about how bad this and this person is. I can’t believe they don’t think. I mean, how do you know that man over there doesn’t know the person you’re criticizing? You don’t. I believe you should be careful out in public and keep confidential chats in a private surroundings.
As for me, I laughed my ass off (literally) once. There were this man on a tram and he kept talking into his cell, blabbering about how his weekend had been and how many girls he’d been with…Well, suddenly his cell rang! He hadn’t been talking to anyone. He just wanted to sound cool. Well, he couldn’t wait to get off the tram fast enough!
^_^
November 25th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Hi Proxy! Welcome to the site!
I got to wonder if maybe cell phones do fry people’s brains — especially after reading your comment about that guy. Geez! I hope he wasn’t trying to impress any gals. While fellow guys might be impressed by multiple conquests, all I can think is “Ewwww! What ickiness did he pick up and spread!” — assuming any of his story was real. Then add in that he couldn’t even find a real friend to call to brag. That’s just pathetic all around.