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I have 2 children 39 & 41 yrs., 1 step. 38 yrs. & the step's 17 yr. old lives with us...ALL are TOO CONNECTED. They all need those phones to be surgically implanted in their forearms so that they would AGAIN have 2 good hands! The teenager was grounded from the cell phone once over some texting issues.. It's significant other (at the time!) begged us to give privileges back because it was "too hard to talk!" Poor things. My cell is a basic flip phone. I refuse to join the rest of the world wandering aimlessly, gazing at their phones. Not many of us left...maybe we should form a support group!
EXACTLY! And what people define as "busy" varies greatly. I feel if I'm outside in the evening sitting on my deck watching my dogs run around while enjoying a glass of wine...I'm BUSY. If for whatever reason I don't wish to be disturbed I'm busy. IMHO "busy" isn't something the caller has the right to define.
And I will say that such is the absolute height of selfishness. Thankfully I come from a better place & better class of people who actually ANSWER their phones & in fact if they call you & you haven't called back the cultural norm is that within 2 odd days you can expect a phone call asking "why haven't you returned my call?" To not return people's calls is considered the absolute height of selfishness. Any other point of view isn't a differing opinion, it's just WRONG, just as wrong as saying 2+4=9.
Am I saying you don't have the right to enjoy your activities, and to greatly hope that you are not bothered while enjoying them, needlessly on top of that? Absolutely not. You don't owe anyone an explanation as to what you like & why you like it. Heck, I myself sometimes go walking in the woods we have on our property & am known to leave my phone behind specifically because I want to MAKE SURE that I can actually enjoy the walk uninterrupted for the entire time. I am wanting to disconnect, & I am willing to chance that I may miss an important call in doing so. Sometimes I'm doing things like cycling for 40-odd minutes going on a 6 mile trip from home, or taking a dip in the lake (hard to talk on the phone while doing the last one especially), or enjoying my wife fully. I sure don't think I have to justify to any callers later on who called during such a period as to what I was doing at the time. So in a way, I know exactly what you mean.
Still, I will return such calls some after, and say "I was tied up" etc, and if I take my phone with me during the walks in the woods etc, I ANSWER IT. Hello?! That's what it's for. If it happens to ring 25 times unexpectedly I may turn it on vibrate otherwise, gee whiz, it isn't going to kill me to answer it. Good grief already.
When someone calls, they're not invading your precious little boundaries or space. I don't think they're selfish for wanting to talk to you. They can't read your mind, they don't know that you're doing whatever. All they're guilty of doing is--oh, the horrors--wanting to TALK to you. Oh my goodness, imagine that. Someone actually wants to have some sort of relationship and TALK to you. Oh my goodness, how selfish of them to impose on your little island like that! What a bunch of selfish jerks!
[sarcasm off]
By the way, yes, the same thing goes for "drop-ins." Where I come from, it's considered OKAY to do so. Those who think you have to call first are considered pretentious snobs who think they're as "all that" as the CEO of Exxon, people who think you have to make an APPOINTMENT with them first like they're a dentist, because otherwise "HOW DARE YOU JUST SHOW UP UNANNOUNCED, HOW RUDE!!!!"
Such attitudes remind me of the people I used to know in Tucson when I lived there who wouldn't give you a jump start even when you had battery cables, honestly they often-times were the same people-big surprise. Believe me, I wasn't in the habit of asking for a jump start every day for a month. But for about 3-odd days my car had a weak battery & I was needing a jump here & there, and even people at my own apartment complex who KNEW me & had always been nice most times acted like I was the most selfish jerk for daring to ask for a jump start.
Even my wife's co-workers did that to her, necessitating that we call someone (who thankfully didn't act like us calling them was akin to spitting on the face of the Pope in a Catholic Church during Christmas Eve Mass) who lived way on the other side of town & had to come all the way over there in rush-hour traffic, when my wife had cables the entire time. (Such people like that are my role models for how EVERYONE ought to be.) That last day, I had called AutoZone to check on a replacement & they had one, all I had to do was go & get it, and still, people acted like I was asking to have intercourse with their girlfriend while they watched in asking for a jump start. Gee whiz.
When that happened, I actually told those people "I hope your apartment catches on fire tomorrow, because if it does, I wouldn't even call 911 and I wouldn't even waste my urine peeing on it to help put out the fire. I'll just cheer 'burn baby burn' and laugh my butt off at you the whole time." Honestly, I think such people deserve exactly that. Absolutely.
For that I applaud you. It's off-topic a bit, but yes, I am most certainly "anything but Apple" in my opinion about electronics. I'd almost rather starve than let someone GIVE me something that was "iJunk" or whatever.
Back on-topic, to me the thing is there is so much unjustified hatred for people's "umbilical cord" feelings towards their phones. Unless it is affecting you, and 85% of the time I'd say it isn't, then it's not any of your business. Can you say you think it's silly? To a certain extent, that's fine, but beyond that, it starts to get to be just mean-spirited and hateful, and there's no call for it.
What makes people like this? Where do they get off thinking that they have any business telling someone they ought to turn their phone off or be escorted to the door? It's ridiculous and baseless. I don't owe ANYONE except maybe my boss an explanation as to why I'm using my phone, so long as it's not a library and I'm not yelling at the top of my lungs or I'm swerving into someone else's lane on the road from texting-driving (in such cases then yes people do have a right to say something). Even in the case of a boss--if you're going to preach at me for using a phone for 5 seconds, then how about that person over there chit-chatting with a co-worker while not doing any work? Loafing is loafing, it doesn't matter if it's due to a phone, a hamburger, or watching cute girls from the office window.
Even then, if you're okay with, saw, laws against texting-driving, are you equally okay with laws about eating/drinking while driving, staring at cute girls jogging while driving, fiddling with the car stereo while driving, referring kids in the backseat while driving? Are you going to be equally vocal about disruptive kids in the supermarket, or people not keeping their dogs quiet & they make the whole neighborhood noisy? If your answer is "yes," then at least you're being equal & consistent--if not, then frankly, you're a prejudiced bigot.
What really surprises me are bosses who think they can confiscate your cell phone. Since when is that an okay thing to do? Can we confiscate people's wallets, their IDs, their money, their tablets? Oh no, you're not getting your hands on my phone, if I have to quit my job or leave the premises okay, but you WILL NOT get your hands on it. Period.
Regardless, there's no need for this vitrol. If someone is being noisy in a theatre or disrupting you, whether they're coughing a lot, their kids are noisy, they're farting every other second, or their phone-light is bothering you, yes say something. If they also hit you from crossing the center line while driving because they're staring at a cute female jogger, stuffing their face with food, fiddling in the glove box for their CD collection (does anyone even do that anymore?), reaching for something in the back-seat, you have every right to say something.
But when cell phone people are singled out, that's a form of bigotry & it's wrong.
LRH
Oh, please. Wah, I can't use my cell anywhere I want.
If you don't let me use it whenever I want, no matter who I inconvenience, you're a bigot!
Never have. I think you need to deal better with modern things.
I don't have a problem with modern things. I actually have a cell phone. I'm just saying its rude to use it during a movie or at the theater. People can use them all they want, but when they are an intrusion and affect others, they need to be put away.
I am a proud owner of a Galaxy Note II. It is super handy for things like writing mom an email at work, coordinating events as a Meetup organizer, listening to tunes or playing games while im on the train, or keeping up with grad school homework. I use my phone frequently and I will not make any apologies for it.
Same here, and I admit to being tethered to my phone during the work day. I would develop hives if I left my cell phone at home.
However in my defense:
It's my only phone.
I am self employed and run a business.
I am a contractor and work out of my truck, or on the job...I'm mobile.
It really is important to my business to be available to employees and clients throughout the work day.
I send and receive estimates and other important messages with it, plus GPS is often critical.
Almost without exception, clients, general contractors, subs and employees I communicate with have
"smart" phones. Those that don't are truly at a disadvantage since this is how workday issues are expected to be dealt with nowadays. In fact, having a cell phone is a requirement for anyone I hire.
As to using a laptop instead, meh. I have a laptop and a tablet so can be mobile that way as well as long as there's a wifi connection. But a smartphone is 1000 percent more convenient, and it's how many people communicate. One device, one monthly bill. Text me an address I need to get to in an hour, someone's phone number I need to call right away, a photo of a project so I can give you an estimate right away...my phone lets me address all of these things immediately.
But!
I have no problem shutting my phone off, or at least turning it to silent mode, during movies, social events, while driving, while at home, while walking the dogs, hanging out with friends, shopping, etc. Do it all the time, when not in "business" mode.
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