I only fake phone conversations when my little brother hands me his toy phone (or a swiped cell phone, keyguard ON) and expects me to have a conversation.
I have made my boyfriend stay on the phone with me while going to the post office late at night and such, so IMO faking it is a good idea.
I’ve had the Unintentionally Fake Cell Phone Conversation. This is far worse, IMO, than the intentionally fake one. A friend of mine has a way of finding out what he wants to know and then assuming that I know the conversation is over at that point. Or if he hits traffic or whatever he’ll just hang up the phone.
So I’m still talking…la la la…and then I’m like, “Dude, you’re awfully quiet…wait a–”
Look at the phone and realize the call has ended, and I have been talking to dead air.
For some reason at that point I feel really smart.
:rolleyes:
I miss dial tones.
(If I mention it to him he swears he said “Bye,” or “Later,” but I know better. For some reason a lot of guys are just not good at phone etiquette.)
As for intentionally fake convos…no, can’t say I’ve ever had one, although I could see the logic behind them in an “unsafe” area or whatever, just as visible security. Most of my girlfriends, though, just actually call me, which is both endearing and faintly irritating because I’ll get these random phone calls. “Hey, Audrey, it’s me! And I’m, like, pumping gas at this totally crappy gas station and there’s this car like twenty feet away that’s full of creepy guys who are looking at me so I just thought I’d call you and, like, you know, play it off and try to ignore them…” etc., etc…
I even get these on my voicemail.
I guess none of my friends are any good at the Fake Cell Call, because they’d much rather pester someone live.
I did it once, when I was outside waiting for a bus late at night and this guy who’d been creepily circling the block for about ten minutes propositioned me for prostitution(!!). when I declined and he came around again, I just picked up the phone and started talking into it, and he left.
not to say I wouldn’t do it in other situations if it were more convenient. if there were a button on my phone that made it ring, I would use that SO often to get out of shitty conversations.
I’ve done this. I went to the “set ring tone” menu of my phone, and tested one of the tones. Then I rushed out of the meeting apologising for being so rude that I’d left my phone on. It’s a simple trick, but it works.
I’ve done it quite a few times.
I have to really move to get to the bus in time after work and on the way I’m always seeing people I know who want to talk. So instead of benig rude and the like I pretend that I havent’ noticed them and that I’m talking on my mobile. That stops them from coming over to me. But I’m always careful to put it on vibrate.
I had a cell phone with a handsfree headset. You would not noticethe headset if you didn’t know to look for it. I got a lot of strange looks in the supermarket when I would ask my “invisible friend” if we needed milk. Once someone who new my brother and later told my brother how sorry he was that I was mentally ill.
I don’t see why the phone ringing while doing this would be a problem. Just have it set to whatever sound you might get for a second incoming call, then fake having call waiting.
I am the opposite - I have my phone set with different rings for if you are in my phonebook or not. Most calls I receive with the “I don’t know” ring are marketing. I ignore them and they leave no message. People at work have become used to talking to me while I ignore the ringing phone in my pocket.
There’s a girl on Livejournal who has a journal about her job as a stripper. I recall her posting that one guy pretended to be on his cell phone so he could ignore her and get out of tipping her, and in the middle of it, his phone rang and he was startled and he jumped. Ha!
When I was living with my crazy aunt and uncle, and they were yelling at me, my cell phone rang, and it was my boyfriend. I said I was going to leave the room because I was sick of the lectures, and that they could yell at each other if they like, but I have other things to do. Now, my aunt hates when I call my boyfriend after they’ve been yelling at me, and they think it’s a sign of weakness. So when I called him back on the land line, within 30 seconds my aunt picked up the phone and said she needed to use the phone.
I decided to be ballsy and go to my computer… which is next to her computer and the phone she was using. She was there mumbling “yeah… uh huh… mmm” into the phone. Then I heard… BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!!! - you know, that really loud beeping to let you know your phone is off the hook. She quietly and sheepishly hung up the phone. Boy oh boy, did I want to point and laugh!
I’ve never done it. I couldn’t do it without feeling like an idiot.
After reading this discussion, I shall never do it.
Except if I’m walking somewhere alone at night.
No, I think I’d actually try and call my husband or someone else, after all. Even if it’s just to say ‘talk to me while I walk to the car’.
Except then I’d be not paying attention to the rapists/muggers/badguys because I’d be too busy talking on the phone.
Dang phones.
I’ve done it a few times I guess. Mostly to get out of situations I don’t want to be in - a few weeks ago I had to fake getting a call in order to leave the bar where two girls were present who I’d rather didn’t know about each other. Otherwise the only time I pretend to be doing something on my phone is when I’m on my own and don’t want to just sit there looking stupid so I just delete old text messages or play one of the lame games or someting. I would text people, but I never really have anything to say so I just pretend that I’m texting instead.
I can’t believe I saw this thread today. Just yesterday for the first time in my life the thought dawned on me that I could have totally made a situation work out far better for everyone concerned earlier that day if I’d only thought of this idea.
Here’s another good example. Say you’re selling your car, and someone is test driving it who’s on the fence. They like it and can afford it, but they’ve let you know they’re the type who procrastinates decisions until nothing gets done. Grabbing your phone and saying “Hello? Yes, it’s still for sale, but I’m on a test drive with another gentleman right now. May I call you back later at this number? OK, bye” could conceivably help this person enjoy upgraded transportation and help you move on to other projects. Imagine all the wonderful things you could cause others to believe without actually saying anything to them. Suppose you’re really shy but want this new person to know you like her. “Excuse me, my phone’s vibrating–Hello? No, I think you have the wrong number…no, it’s not Terry,…sorry, but I’m kind of in the middle of a fun conversation right now, so…take care, goodbye.” Ice broken. The possibilities are endless.
Is this fakery, pretense? In a way, certainly. We all pretend things every day. We go through life acting in certain ways, dressing in certain ways, buying and doing certain things to convey certain impressions upon ourselves and others. For example, it has been observed for decades that no person is actually confident; the ones who appear that way are just behaving that way despite their fears and discomfort. It’s nearly the same thing as actually being confident. If they do it long enough, they can get so good at it that their act becomes virtually indistinguishable from true confidence–even to them.
That said, there is an old saying: “O what a wicked web we weave/When first we practice to deceive.” I have no plans to suddenly start faking phone conversations in public to change outcomes. I couldn’t do it without feeling like a dolt. To me the only thing more obnoxious than talking loudly enough on a cell phone to be overheard is having one of those idiotic Nextel walkie-talkie things that emit an ear-splitting dissonant chirp with every single transmission and allow everyone in a fifty-yard radius to hear BOTH sides of the conversation. Talk about self-absorption. But hey,…at least those are REAL conversations! 
Bwahahaha!!
Ditto, except I set the alarm to go off on my phone if I know in advance I’m going to be in a boring meeting.
you might want to set these calls to a silent or very soft ringtone.
I would look mighty silly if I faked a cell phone conversation - I don’t own a cell phone. I’m sure people would notice immediately if I tried.
If I want to avoid talking to people around me, I just don’t talk to them. As for impressing others, hasn’t it been at least twenty years since it was considered impressive that some loud-mouthed, self-important idiot owned a cellphone?
I admit I do this all the time to avoid conversations and circumvent scams. Always in taxis.
Taxi drivers sometimes think because I’m a foreigner I don’t know where I am going (which is sometimes true, but anyway…) So, I call a “friend” and tell them I am almost there 3 KM away, expect me in ten minutes. This usually works.
As unbelievably strange as it sounds, Bangkok taxi drivers are also prone to not just hitting on female passengers, but proposing marriage. Seriously. Acting like the driver is joking or pretending to be married only works about half the time. Even, “My husband is a very large Muy Thai boxer”, has not always worked. I’m just out of other ideas now. Can you really blame me for having a nice chat with an imaginary friend instead?
I confess: I did this the other day to avoid a street full ofchuggers - I didn’t fake the call, i kept phoning home in the repeated absence of an answer (I was expecting my wife to return home and pick up at any moment).