# Brothers, Sisters and their cell phones: this is a totally racist ERRR "cultural"? observation **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 7, 2016, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260 "2016-09-07T06:57:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/1 "2016-09-07T06:57:21Z")
Just putting it out there. Now before I begin, YES, I have seen non-black people talk a lot on their cell phones. Its just seems to me some black people talk on them a lot more. And at all odd times the day and night, and at odd places. Not all black people talk on their cell phones constantly. Id say a very small percentage of them do. But my anecdotal experience shows its a lot more than people of other ethnicities. Cases in point: last month, at a Irish pub in NJ, where for about 45 minutes a brother at the bar sitting near me had an earpiece on and was speaking to someone on his cell WHILE EATING DINNER, as well as downing a beer or so. February, at a PA casino, a brother sitting at a bar table, not only with an earpiece, but on Skype talking to someone while eating dinner, I was there for 30 minutes, and the conversation never ended. Id say in the past 5 years, Ive run into at least 3-4 if not more occasions where brothers were talking to someone on their cell at a bar, the entire time I was there. Ive noticed this from maybe 1, 2 non blacks, at the best. Am I off my rocker with my observations? Maybe Im a fucking racist pig who only notes when people who look different than me are on their cell phones. But I don’t think so . . . . . . . Or is there some cultural deal where black men spend a lot of time in cell phone conversations in public? And, frankly, I also notice a lot of black women (a very small pct, overall but a lot) in stores who always seem to have a phone at their ear, but rarely other ethnicities. If Im on the right track what are you brothers and sisters talking about and with whom at such odd hours of the night? I THINK what piques my curiosity is what could be so interesting you could spend 20, 30 even longer minutes on a cell phone with the same person? BTW, I have NO PROBLEM with this. Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/2 "2016-09-07T08:16:31Z")
Since you’re making it about race, yes, it’s racist. You yourself point out that you see people of all races use the phone more than average, but for some reason you’ve latched onto those who happen to be of a particular race. There may have been people of other races talking on their phone all the time you were at that bar, whom you did not notice. But you don’t know. It’s possible that you happen to notice what black people do more than what other people do, for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/3 "2016-09-07T08:20:06Z")
See, see, white guys, they talk on the phone like this… (hunches over forward and mimes holding a phone to my ear while saying “de de de, de da de de de de de da dee”) But black guys, nah, black guys talk on the phone like this… (leans back and mimes holding a phone to my ear while saying "de de de, de da de de de de de da dee) ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/4 "2016-09-07T08:26:57Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > If Im on the right track what are you brothers and sisters talking about and with whom at such odd hours of the night? > > I THINK what piques my curiosity is what could be so interesting you could spend 20, 30 even longer minutes on a cell phone with the same person? > > BTW, I have NO PROBLEM with this. Just curious. You are not on the right track. The same things everyone else talks about. Of course you are. BTW: I have a picture of a white guy, giving his white boyfriend a blowjob, while looking at his phone, as his boyfriend takes the picture. I mean really, put one or the other down and focus. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/5 "2016-09-07T09:41:13Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > You yourself point out that you see people of all races use the phone more than average Maybe in Lake Wobegon 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/6 "2016-09-07T10:30:51Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Just putting it out there. I don’t get it. You’re a white guy but all your brothers are black. Were you adopted? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/7 "2016-09-07T10:39:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I don’t get it. You’re a white guy but all your brothers are black. > > Were you adopted? He was born a poor black child. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/8 "2016-09-07T10:50:34Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Id say in the past 5 years, Ive run into at least 3-4 if not more occasions where brothers were talking to someone on their cell at a bar, the entire time I was there. Ive noticed this from maybe 1, 2 non blacks, at the best. So you’ve seen excessive cell phone use _once a year?_ And you’re drawing conclusions from that? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/9 "2016-09-07T11:09:38Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Just putting it out there. Since we’re just putting things out there - on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, how disappointed will you be if no one calls you out for your brothers & sisters schtick? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/10 "2016-09-07T11:55:44Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Since we’re just putting things out there - on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, how disappointed will you be if no one calls you out for your brothers & sisters schtick? OP is our resident white Cornell West. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/11 "2016-09-07T12:10:15Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > He was born a poor black child. Had his cock shortened ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/12 "2016-09-07T12:44:40Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Had his cock shortened Ahhh, the caucasian genital cutting you hear so much about. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/13 "2016-09-07T14:04:31Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > while looking at his phone, as his boyfriend takes the picture. I mean really, put one or the other down and focus. 😛 That’s what autofocus is for. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/14 "2016-09-07T14:19:09Z")
Even in my white pre-cell phone childhood, I could easily spend a couple of hours on the phone at once with my friends. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/15 "2016-09-07T14:51:04Z")
Without defending the OP’s unscientific personal observations, for what it’s worth, Nielsen has consistently [found](http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/you-used-to-call-me-on-my-cell-phone-trends-in-the-us-telecom-industry.html) that African-Americans use more cell phone minutes than any other racial demographic, at times [twice](http://abcnews.go.com/WN/cell-phones-demography-nielsen-data-breaks-mobile-phone/story?id=11468925) as much as whites. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/16 "2016-09-07T17:11:18Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Without defending the OP’s unscientific personal observations Ha, I just saw three black women in a row clutching cellphones. Thusly, the association is proved by research. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/17 "2016-09-07T18:45:59Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Ha, I just saw three black women in a row clutching cellphones. Movie theater? 😃 Sorry, couldn’t resist. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/18 "2016-09-07T19:31:53Z")
How can you be sure they were actually [black](http://150597036.r.cdn77.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/jpg00008.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/19 "2016-09-07T19:53:13Z")
I did see a woman on a Kroger parking lot holding a phone so that the other could gesticulate with both hands as she screamed at the telephone. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260/20 "2016-09-07T20:19:59Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I did see a woman on a Kroger parking lot holding a phone so that the other could gesticulate with both hands as she screamed at the telephone. Now the stinging question is: Was she black? _runs_ ETA: And of course, if yes, is it a sufficient sample size for statistical analysis? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-sisters-and-their-cell-phones-this-is-a-totally-racist-errr-cultural-observation/765260.md?page=2)