# I pit people who are constantly complaining about cell phones **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 21, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457 "2004-06-21T15:51:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/1 "2004-06-21T15:51:40Z")
It’s getting old! - To the people who say ‘I’m never going to get a cell phone. I don’t want to be contactable all the time’: 1. Nobody’s forcing you to get one (though it might be handy for your friends if you did have one) 2. Cell phones have an off button - use it. Only an idiot/ doormat is contactable all the time 3. Cell phones have caller ID and generallly voicemail too - screen your goddam calls if it matters that much to you. 4. You know you _can_ be selective about who you give your number to. If things start getting out of hand you can always change your number and start again - To the people who say ‘The only time that having a cell phone would be justified is in an emergency’: Get into the 21st century. Yes they _could_ come in handy in an emergency situation believe it or not but they also can just make day to day co-ordination of activities easier. Boyfriend’s popped out to the shops to get eggs but you realise you also need milk? - send him a text message. Lost your friend in a crowd? - ditto OK I _get_ that we were able to manage before cell phones but they simply make some things easier like most new technology. They’ve taken the world by storm for a reason. What are you railing against so much? 😕 - To the people who give out about phones going off in theatres - ‘those cursed, cursed cell phones’: It’s the people who left them on that are the problem. OK if it’s an accident and the mortified offender switches it off immediately, it wouldn’t have happened if they didn’t have a phone in the first place - I concede that. However if some asshole actually _talks_ on their phone in the theatre they’re just an asshole who would probably find some other way to be inconsiderate if they weren’t doing that. I’m so, so tired of cell phone rants. They’re a fact of modern life. Get used to it. Stop banging your head against a brick wall. They help people keep in touch and IME people seem to call each other more often when they have cell phones. - And lastly to the people who call them cell phones: They’re mobiles 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/2 "2004-06-21T16:07:33Z")
You had me all the way up until the last word. 😛 I agree wholeheartedly. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/3 "2004-06-21T16:09:14Z")
I don’t dislike mobile phones - I’ve had one myself for years; what I do dislike is _wankers_ - unfortunately, mobile phones make it easier for wankers to spoil everyone’s day - by shouting “You’re breaking up!, I’m losing you!” in quiet restaurants and by means of loud polyphonic ringtones in cinemas and theatres. Wankers should be banned, not mobile phones. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/4 "2004-06-21T16:10:53Z")
The thought just popped into my head, and I need to get it out. Mobiles don’t annoy people, assholes do. ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/5 "2004-06-21T16:18:03Z")
I’m an anti-cell phone guy, so let me get started deconstructing your rant. > [@YoudNeverGuess](#): > > - To the people who say ‘I’m never going to get a cell phone. I don’t want to be contactable all the time’: > > 1. Nobody’s forcing you to get one (though it might be handy for your friends if you did have one) I wasn’t aware people are complaining about cell phone usage that secretly want cell phones. And I rarely make decisions in life based on what might be “handy” for other people. :rolleyes: > [@YoudNeverGuess](#): > > 1. Cell phones have an off button - use it. Only an idiot/ doormat is contactable all the time. Idiots and doormats like lawyers and medical professionals that need to be on call at all times? Still, since I’m neither, I don’t want one. Get it? **Some people don’t want or NEED cell phones, even though YOU think they’re hella-cool.** I don’t start Pit threads because people don’t buy Microsoft Xboxes, even though I love mine. I understand that some people enjoy life the way it is. > [@YoudNeverGuess](#): > > - To the people who say ‘The only time that having a cell phone would be justified is in an emergency’: > > Get into the 21st century. Yes they _could_ come in handy in an emergency situation believe it or not but they also can just make day to day co-ordination of activities easier. Boyfriend’s popped out to the shops to get eggs but you realise you also need milk? - send him a text message. Lost your friend in a crowd? - ditto > OK I _get_ that we were able to manage before cell phones but they simply make some things easier like most new technology. They’ve taken the world by storm for a reason. What are you railing against so much? 😕 Okay, I’ll say it: If you’re talking on your cell phone in public, and you’re ignoring the people and surroundings you are in, there are two conclusions you can make: Either you are A) trying to resolve an emergency of some kind, or B) you are a douche. Plain and simple. I dislike cell phones because it gives people another excuse to seal themselves into a self-absorbed bubble of importance. With minor exceptions, people on their phones in public are almost never sharing life-shattering news with anyone. It’s always something mundane and ordinary that…hold for it… **could wait until you can see the person face-to-face.** And enough with the asshattery that is talking with someone in the fucking grocery store. If the person on the other end can’t trust you to pick up the right items, they need to supervise your trip in person. Moreover, if you can’t remember what you need to buy, then you need A) a list, B) a supervisor, or C) medical detainment. > [@YoudNeverGuess](#): > > - To the people who give out about phones going off in theatres - ‘those cursed, cursed cell phones’: > > It’s the people who left them on that are the problem. OK if it’s an accident and the mortified offender switches it off immediately, it wouldn’t have happened if they didn’t have a phone in the first place - I concede that. However if some asshole actually _talks_ on their phone in the theatre they’re just an asshole who would probably find some other way to be inconsiderate if they weren’t doing that. Please. That’s the old “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” argument. Well, to quote Eddie Izzard, the guns **do** make it easier, don’t they? Again, cell phones don’t turn people into assholes, that much I concede. However, there’s much less of an opportunity to become an asshole in public without them. It all stems from the “wrapped in a bubble of self-importance” argument as listed above. > [@YoudNeverGuess](#): > > I’m so, so tired of cell phone rants. They’re a fact of modern life. Get used to it. Stop banging your head against a brick wall. They help people keep in touch and IME people seem to call each other more often when they have cell phones. And I’m tired of having to spend time in public with douches who can’t wait until they get home to tell their girlfriend-wirlfriend-smoofy-pants how much they wuvs them. Or listen to some Guy-Pearce-from-Memento-motherfucker go over every single goddamned item on his grocery list with an unnamed, unheard harpy monitoring his every foodstuff purchase. Or hear some jackhole in the theater argue with his friend about how much Eddie Murphy got paid for his last movie. If you must talk on your cell phone in public, please at least be courteous of other people who don’t give two raw fucks about your conversation. God damn, is it too much to ask for people to observe the Golden Rule? When did cell phones absolve us all of being courteous of others’ rights? ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/6 "2004-06-21T16:23:02Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > And I rarely make decisions in life based on what might be “handy” for other people. :rolleyes: This is why I could care less about you. You are a tool, a jackass and a fucking selfish fucknut. Your argument and your point all becomes moot because of this line. Fucking asshat. ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/7 "2004-06-21T16:25:48Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > If you must talk on your cell phone in public, please at least be courteous of other people who don’t give two raw fucks about your conversation. God damn, is it too much to ask for people to observe the Golden Rule? When did cell phones absolve us all of being courteous of others’ rights? Whats the difference between someone talking on a cell phone and simply just talking? I realise that _some_ people shout really loud for no apperent reason but most people just have conversations, albeit one-sided ones. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/8 "2004-06-21T16:31:12Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > God damn, is it too much to ask for people to observe the Golden Rule? When did cell phones absolve us all of being courteous of others’ rights? If the fact that I’m standing on a streetcorner, talking, with my hand up to my face bothers you that fucking much, I suggest that you are the one wiyth the problem, not me. Golden rule? I could care less if you talk on a cell phone. How about you, is this insulting lunatic screed that you are spouting how you want others to treat you? ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/9 "2004-06-21T16:32:24Z")
> [@YoudNeverGuess](#): > > 1. Nobody’s forcing you to get one (though it might be handy for your friends if you did have one) Depends on your definition of “forced.” My girlfriend has chronic health problems and may need to contact me at any time. I didn’t really have a choice in the matter. > [@](#): > > _2. Cell phones have an off button - use it. Only an idiot/ doormat is contactable all the time_ I guess I’m an idiot/doormat. See #1. > [@](#): > > _3. Cell phones have caller ID and generallly voicemail too - screen your goddam calls if it matters that much to you._ Sure, I can do that, but if I weren’t forced to carry the thing around I wouldn’t have to. > [@](#): > > \*4. You know you _can_ be selective about who you give your number to. If things start getting out of hand you can always change your number and start again My girlfriend and my father. That’s it. It still rings more than it has to. I hate the damned thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/10 "2004-06-21T16:33:25Z")
> [@Epimetheus](#): > > This is why I could care less about you. You are a tool, a jackass and a fucking selfish fucknut. Your argument and your point all becomes moot because of this line. Fucking asshat. Christ, who pissed in your coffee this morning? This level of personal vitriol is uncalled for, even in the Pit. I’d like an explanation of why I’m a…ahem, “fucking selfish fucknut” because I don’t make expensive, personal decisions based on what other people want. Who the fuck do you think you are? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/11 "2004-06-21T16:34:58Z")
> [@WILLASS](#): > > Whats the difference between someone talking on a cell phone and simply just talking? I realise that _some_ people shout really loud for no apperent reason but most people just have conversations, albeit one-sided ones. This is a good question and I think there might be two prongs to it; first, I think there might be a slight tendency for us to subconsciously find it rude that the speaker is talking to someone _we can’t see_, second, I think there might be a slight tendency for the speaker to _speak a little louder than is necessary_ because a) they can’t see the person they’re talking to and b) they are dimly aware that the medium of communication is less than perfect. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/12 "2004-06-21T16:47:05Z")
> [@WILLASS](#): > > Whats the difference between someone talking on a cell phone and simply just talking? I realise that _some_ people shout really loud for no apperent reason but most people just have conversations, albeit one-sided ones. In many situations, no difference whatsoever. But unfortunately, there’s a lot of situations where there IS a considerable difference. Like when one is in motion while talking - usually driving, although I’ve seen pedestrians practically run into people because too much of their mind was into their phone call. And drivers - if you’re going to drive and be on the phone at the same time, with your phone conversation causing you to drive your car in an irregular manner that has little apparent connection to road and traffic circumstances, _can you at least stay in the slow lane_ and let the rest of us pass you?? (Not to mention having to avoid cell-phone drivers while being a pedestrian, as one might while walking through the parking lot at the shopping mall: the cell-phone driver has one hand on the wheel, one hand holding the phone, and no hand left to signal the turn they’re about to make into the aisle you’re walking across, catching you totally by surprise.) Then there’s the problem with people talking inappropriately loudly on the phone in restaurants and other places one goes to get away from that sort of stuff. There’s a number of occasions when my wife and I have been in a restaurant with someone on their cell phone nearby. When they were on the phone, it was YAMMER YAMMER YAMMER, and when their dinner companion showed up and the conversation was face-to-face, it was just a normal Yammer Yammer Yammer. At any rate, I’ll stop bitching about cell phone users when they stop being a major irritant. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/13 "2004-06-21T17:00:25Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > Christ, who pissed in your coffee this morning? This level of personal vitriol is uncalled for, even in the Pit. > > I’d like an explanation of why I’m a…ahem, “fucking selfish fucknut” because I don’t make expensive, personal decisions based on what other people want. > > Who the fuck do you think you are? More of a person than you apparently. I at least care enough about my friends and family enough to invest in an “expensive” (wow, 30 dollars a month, sooo expensive) decision so they can reach me. You make me sick. Must have lots of friends. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/14 "2004-06-21T17:02:27Z")
I have to say I agree completely about loud, obnoxious phone users yammering on in restaurants and cinemas, I also think that these are just the visible face (voice) of mobile phone users and are generally just obnoxious people who, if it weren’t for the phone, would probably be being annoying some other way. It’s the considerate user that simply goes un-noticed. > [@](#): > > I think there might be a slight tendency for us to subconsciously find it rude that the speaker is talking to someone we can’t see I think there may be something to this theory although I have found through regular exposure to people having one sided conversations I have fazed it out and no longer even notice. I barely notice people on their phones at all anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/15 "2004-06-21T17:10:42Z")
> [@Epimetheus](#): > > More of a person than you apparently. I at least care enough about my friends and family enough to invest in an “expensive” (wow, 30 dollars a month, sooo expensive) decision so they can reach me. > > You make me sick. Must have lots of friends. :rolleyes: Hey. Asshole. Listen up. I don’t know who you think you are, but for some people, $30 **is** a lot of money. You throwing a fit because people don’t want to dole it out is one of the most snot-nosed, overprivileged, jackholish things I’ve ever read. Do you pay your own bill, or do mommy and daddy handle it for you? Besides, what about anything I said indicates to you that I don’t own a cell phone because I can’t afford it? I can guarantee you I’m in a higher tax bracket than you occupy, cousin, and I still don’t need a cell phone to get by. Let me speak slowly, so you can think through the bong resin: **I don’t fucking WANT a cell phone.** I don’t need one, don’t want one, and don’t care that you think I’m some kind of Philistine for not having one. **I** make **you** sick? Please. Some of us like to call our friends and family…wait for it…from home! To their homes! Where we make plans to meet each other at other places! And as long as I can talk to the people I love on the phone, why do you care if it’s from home or in public? Grow up, fucko. I’m done with you. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/16 "2004-06-21T17:20:43Z")
Wow, you are in a higher tax bracket but 30 dollars is expensive? Nice. No, mommy and daddy don’t pay for my phone. Or any of my bills. I have not lived with or relied on my parents since I was 18. Some of us don’t sit around with thier high tax bracket income all day long and get fat watching TV and having the phone handy. Some of us work full time jobs, overtime many times, and go to school and have other hobbies. Some of us are hardly ever at home. Unlike those with higher tax brackets of course. If you are so selfish you cannot understand that it is a good thing to get a hold of friends or let them get ahold of you in case their car breaks down or they are in jail, then go ahead, but don’t come in here all holier than thou with your selfish attitude and expect the world to conform to your patently self centered worldview. I got my phone so people could get a hold of me, and 30 dollars a month is chump change, even for a poor student like myself. Some of us have better things to do than sit around the house with the phone handy to get a hold of friends. Phones are here to stay, they are convient and some people are willing to spend a bit of our lower tax bracket income to have convience. The fact that you don’t like it means nothing, because your post makes you look like a self-centered asshole. If you weren’t such a prick, your opinion would mean more to me. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/17 "2004-06-21T17:25:06Z")
I have nothing against _Mobile_ phones. (I’ve got one) It’s the people who use them I have a problem with. The moment their phone rings their spacial awareness switches off. If my phone rings the first thing I do is get out of people’s way and if possible earshot. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/18 "2004-06-21T17:28:32Z")
Jeezus, **Epimetheus** , I’m not anti-cellphone at all, but I think it’s a bit extreme to call somebody a selfish because they don’t own one. My friends have lots of ways to get in touch with me. They can call my home phone. Several of them have my office phone number. I check my e-mail frequently. (This is our most common medium for keeping in touch.) I love my friends dearly, but it is absolutely not necessarily for them to be able to get in touch with me every minute of every day. Yes, cell phones make it a bit easier to coordinate things if we’re going to meet somewhere, especially if someone is running late, but you can work around this stuff fairly easily with a little bit of planning ahead. (I, uh, actually have a cell phone, but for purpose of this post, pretend I don’t. I could live without it, and I don’t answer it when I’m driving or talking to somone face-to-face.) ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/19 "2004-06-21T17:40:57Z")
If it looks like I was getting on to him because of his anti-cell phone attitude, I appologize. I only took issue with the fact that he would rarely spend money to make it handy for his friends and family. (other people) If I had a friend that was that selfish we definiately would have issues. If his life is so organized and so perfect that he gets every call, never leaves his friends or family on a limb because he isn’t home for hours on end, or what have you, then I guess I should appologize right now. Somehow I doubt it. I have had friends that had attitudes like his, and they were also the type that were late or just ditched appointments without advance warning for stupid reasons. Like the wife is making raisin bread tonight, so we cannot go to the movie we have been planning on seeing this particular day for 4 months. But he is in a higher tax bracket and all, so I don’t know my place and am how dare this peasent get lippy with his better. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/20 "2004-06-21T17:49:25Z")
> [@Epimetheus](#): > > I at least care enough about my friends and family enough to invest in an “expensive” (wow, 30 dollars a month, sooo expensive) decision so they can reach me. Give me a fucking break. I don’t believe this for one minute. You spend the $30 a month because _you_ benefit from it, Don’t try to pass it off as some kind of noble gesture, because that’s bullshit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457.md?page=2)