A couple of days ago I read an article about a weirdo in Philly who brings a cell phone jammer on the bus with him so that he can interrupt the phone conversations of fellow bus riders.
His basic premise is that cell phone talkers have “no sense of just privacy or anything.” It bugs him to have to listen to other peoples’ conversations, and, as a result, he feels he has the right to put a stop to those conversations.
Some folks on the webbernets (not many, but a few) have heralded this butthead as some sort of vigilante folk hero, not supporting his methods, but agreeing that public citizens shouldn’t talk on the phone while going about their daily business.
I have beef with this, big hormone injected beef, because there’s a major flaw with his (and similar) arguments against public cell phone use: people have conversations in public ALL THE TIME. And when it’s in person, it doesn’t seem to bother anyone. Shaming public cell phone talkers is arbitrary.
Assuming the volume and topic of conversation are the same, how is it any different for me to sit on the bus next to my sister and talk to her (which no one seems to mind) than it is for me to talk to her on the phone while I’m on the bus? It’s not. The level of inconvenience to you, which should be none since the bus isn’t the library, is exactly the same. Yet when a cell phone is involved, peops get all in a snit!
The rudeness of cell phone talking has very little to do with the phone itself, and instead has everything to do with the time, place, and manner of the conversation.
A few examples to demonstrate my point:
It is rude to talk on the phone while interacting with a grocery checker, bank teller, or cashier, not because a phone is involved, but because it’s rude to not give a person your undivided attention during an exchange. It would be just as rude to stand face to face with a checker, teller, or cashier and carry on a conversation with the person standing next to you during the exchange. It is not, however, rude to talk at a reasonable volume on a cell phone while waiting in line, just as it is not rude to talk at a reasonable volume to, say, your kid, who’s standing next to you while you wait.
It is rude to publicly talk to your nurse practitioner on the phone about your toe fungus, but not because of the phone, because no one wants to hear about toe jams and jellies while they’re walking around minding their own danged business. It would be just as rude to have this conversation with your NP in person in a public setting. Keep that type of thing at the doctor’s office.
It’s rude to talk very loudly on a cell phone; again, not because of the phone, but because of the volume. You should also not shout to the person standing next to you while having a public conversation in a quiet or semi-quiet space.
It is annoying, if not rude, to say smoopy things to your significant other on the phone while in full earshot of others, JUST as it is rude to do this in person. In fact, in this scenario, the in-person PDA is usually far worse, since it’s generally accompanied by public smooching and canoodling. Gross.
It is rude to talk on a cell phone in the library/movie theater/church sanctuary/opera/lecture hall because, GASP, it is rude to talk in those places period. The phone is irrelevant.
I don’t appreciate arbitrariness, and there seems to be so much of it where cell phones are concerned.
In addition to being miffed about arbitrary phone etiquette, I’m miffed about arbitrary driving laws (in states like mine) that target cell phone use; not because I don’t think distracted driving is a problem, of course it is, but because cell phones are only one type of distraction. I disagree with my state’s prohibition against drivers holding cell phones. Currently, law enforcement is authorized to make traffic stops and ticket drivers for merely holding phones, even when the phone holding isn’t accompanied by bad driving. It’s just as dangerous (perhaps more dangerous) to drive while applying mascara, yet idiots do it, and there’s no specific prohibition against it. If you can manage to put on your mascara while driving safely (which I doubt, but if you can, good on ya!) you won’t be ticketed. But if you’re driving safely as can be with a cell phone in hand, ticketed. You can fumble with a mixed tape while spanking your kid who’s sitting in the back seat and at the same time play a clarinet, but you’ll only be pulled over if you swerve or brake erratically as a result. Meanwhile, cell phone in hand will get you a ticket no matter what. It’s silly. I won’t burrow this distracted driving tunnel too far, since it’s not the main point of my post, but why the cell phone hate?
Cell phones aren’t going anywhere, at least not until we just have receivers implanted in our earballs. So let’s all just chill the fudge out about them, m’kay.
