# Is looking at your phone in the movie theater during the previews a faux pas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 13, 2019, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358 "2019-11-13T05:01:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/1 "2019-11-13T05:01:08Z")
I’ve seen enough people on the internet bring up having to quickly finish their texts right as the upcoming previews/trailers start during a movie so “not to look rude” as well as the fact those ads before movies now tell you to turn off your phone right as the previews start up. But does anyone actually care about that? Are you suppose to take the movie previews as seriously as watching the actual movie? I always do this since I generally will have already seen most trailers by the time I watch a new movie and I always see others do the same thing and have never seen anyone called out on it. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/2 "2019-11-13T05:07:15Z")
As long as you’re not making noise, and keep the brightness way low, I don’t give a fuck what you do on your phone during any part of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/3 "2019-11-13T05:07:25Z")
I care about it. Personally, I think a phone should be shut off the moment one enters a theater. In a perfect world, violations would be punished by a gorilla boning the perp up the ass. If I owned a theater, there would be lifetime bans on patrons using their phones at any point while inside. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/4 "2019-11-13T05:59:01Z")
I set it on vibrate and turn the brightness all the way down if I ‘phone’ during previews. And I won’t even do that if I’m seated close to someone who it might bother (someone close behind / to the sides; someone in front couldn’t possibly notice). When the movie comes up, phone is dark. And if it’s a good preview set, it was dark anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/5 "2019-11-13T07:25:05Z")
I think as long as the lights are up it’s fine to look at the phone. Once the lights go down, the phone should be put away. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/6 "2019-11-13T08:12:49Z")
I consider it rude, yes. ---
**Author:** ![DerNils](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerNils](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerNils)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/7 "2019-11-13T09:06:08Z")
Lights out, phone out. Doesn’t matter what your brightness Settings are, it will stand out to People behind you and pull you out of the experience. And I have been to a lot of movies where the Trailers were better than the actual film. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/8 "2019-11-13T09:21:52Z")
I seem to be taking the unpopular path, but personally I think it’s fine up to the start of the feature. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/9 "2019-11-13T10:17:34Z")
While personally I don’t like it when people do it, since it has long seemed acceptable for whispering/low talking, fussing with your food/beverage/whatever, getting up/down and moving around during the ads and previews I would have to think using the phone is at least as acceptable as the above as long as it’s not loud. But once the feature starts the phone should be off and not taken out. ---
**Author:** ![Calavera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calavera/32/70_2.png) [@Calavera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calavera)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/10 "2019-11-13T10:44:51Z")
As long as the film hasn’t started yet it’s perfectly fine. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/11 "2019-11-13T13:05:26Z")
Interesting question. I, personally, don’t like the previews. Because they are, after all, ads, and not what I paid to see. If they’re for a movie I’m not interested in, they’re just something I have to sit through before I can see what I came to see. And if they’re for a movie I am interested in, they often spoil that movie, because nowadays a trailer for a movie is usually just _the movie itself edited down to a couple of minutes_, so that once I’ve seen the trailer, seeing the actual movie would be redundant. But I can see the case for “Once the lights are down, phones should be put away so they don’t distract other people.” Although, for those of you taking that position: how do you feel about people arriving “late,” or getting up to visit the rest room or snack bar, during the previews? Is that equally distracting? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/12 "2019-11-13T13:31:45Z")
Some people might think so, but as long as the movie hasn’t started it’s fine. I’m not going to sit in silence and complete darkness through my fourth viewing of some dumb trailer just because a small minority think movie theater darkness is holy. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/13 "2019-11-13T13:52:05Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I care about it. Personally, I think a phone should be shut off the moment one enters a theater. In a perfect world, violations would be punished by a gorilla boning the perp up the ass. If I owned a theater, there would be lifetime bans on patrons using their phones at any point while inside. Well put. As I’ve often said, I would be willing to pay extra for a “no phones allowed” theater. I too hate the stupid ads ( not trailers)and can \*kind \*of get trying to amuse oneself until the show starts but to me, the trailers are part of “the show”. If you see a few movies in a month’s time, you’re bound to see the same trailers. By the third time I saw the awful preview for the new _Terminator_ I wanted to scream. But being a grown ass adult, I sat through it with my phone off and my mouth shut. And while I’m grumbling, who the hell can’t go two hours without going to the bathroom?(That’s rhetorical; please don’t tell me about your leaky bladder or prostate problems. I’m talking about the average adult) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/14 "2019-11-13T14:01:23Z")
I always buy my tickets online and have a reserved seat, so I plan things so I get there about 10 minutes into the previews anyway. I’ll be sitting down, taking off my coat, arguing with the kids as to who gets which seat, checking mediastinger to see if I should sit through the credits or not, etc. So no, I don’t give a damn what anyone else does during the previews. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/15 "2019-11-13T14:12:51Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > to me, the trailers are part of “the show” You’ve been brainwashed by Big Movie Theatre! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/16 "2019-11-13T14:33:31Z")
> [@Periwinkle](#): > > I think as long as the lights are up it’s fine to look at the phone. Once the lights go down, the phone should be put away. I agree with this. A month or two ago, I told a woman sitting directly in front of me to put her phone away when she had it out when the previews started. Her husband objected briefly, arguing that the movie had not yet started. (And then, during The Joker, the kid next to me actually started to use his phone well into the movie so I snapped at him to put it away.) Movie theaters are of course very dark. So a smartphone screen (or even a smartwatch screen) is _very_ visible, even from ten or twenty rows away. It’s very much a distraction. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/17 "2019-11-13T14:42:00Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I always buy my tickets online and have a reserved seat, so I plan things so I get there about 10 minutes into the previews anyway. I’ll be sitting down, taking off my coat, arguing with the kids as to who gets which seat, checking mediastinger to see if I should sit through the credits or not, etc. So no, I don’t give a damn what anyone else does during the previews. Ten minutes into the trailers (that many people \*are \*interested in watching)and you’re first walking in, taking off your coat and arguing with the kids? And then you take out your phone to check if you should sit through the credits? :dubious: You sir(or madam) are the poster child of rude movie goers. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/18 "2019-11-13T14:43:59Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I always buy my tickets online and have a reserved seat, so I plan things so I get there about 10 minutes into the previews anyway. I’ll be sitting down, taking off my coat, arguing with the kids as to who gets which seat, checking mediastinger to see if I should sit through the credits or not, etc. So no, I don’t give a damn what anyone else does during the previews. Ladies and gentlemen, modern America! “I do what I want, and fuck the rest of you.” In a perfect world, you’d get a 44 oz soda to the back of your head acting like that. Alas, those of us offended by you are too polite to dole out justice. But we notice. ---
**Author:** ![DerNils](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerNils](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerNils)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/19 "2019-11-13T14:44:41Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Although, for those of you taking that position: how do you feel about people arriving “late,” or getting up to visit the rest room or snack bar, during the previews? Is that equally distracting? As Long as they are not touting flashlights, that is way less disturbing. It is dark, due to the Arrangement of seats they will rarely move right in front of me (and only briefly) and their Sound is generally drowned out by the theatre Sound. A phone screen on the other hand is a constant point of light right out of the area I am focused on. I have the same Problem with unfortunately positioned/lighted emergency Exit markers, but those cannot be helped. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/20 "2019-11-13T14:54:09Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I care about it. Personally, I think a phone should be shut off the moment one enters a theater. In a perfect world, violations would be punished by a gorilla boning the perp up the ass. If I owned a theater, there would be lifetime bans on patrons using their phones at any point while inside. I take out my phone in a theater, sometimes during the trailers, to double-check that it’s set to vibrate mode and won’t make noise during the movie. It only takes a few seconds. Gorilla? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358.md?page=2)