# 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:** 4
**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, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/61 "2019-11-13T20:08:01Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > At least my parents taught me to think for myself so I can figure out that the scheduled movie start time is bullshit the theater posts to try to scam people into sitting through 10-15 minutes of commercials and another 10-15 minutes of promotional material. It seems like they taught you to think \*of \*yourself. Also, apparently that THEY are constantly trying to scam you. Way to stick it to The Man. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/62 "2019-11-13T20:08:32Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The house lights haven’t been dimmed during the part with the ads and promotional material, so I’m OK with people doing whatever they want (talking, playing on their cell phones, whatever). But the lights are usually dimmed at the posted start time and then 15-20 minutes of previews play. It’s during this time (and of course during the movie itself) that I expect respectful silence and no cell phone usage. But these days there are 10-15 minutes of true commercials _after_ the lights are dimmed at the start time, then the previews. And I’m sorry, 15-20 minutes of previews is ridiculous. Two or three previews, total less than five minutes - I’m cool with that. The problem is that with digital projection previews cost nothing. In the film days previews were spliced onto the beginning of the first reel, so actual costs were incurred. Now it’s just throw more up there so the sheep will chew thgough more popcorn. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The whole come in the middle of the movie and stay through a second showing to get caught up hasn’t been done in decades. You may remember that at showings of Psycho, people were specifically not allowed to do that. And with reserved seating, you can’t just watch part of two screenings, not without sitting in someone else’s reserved seat. I know that. I’m just saying that it used to be common practice and didn’t seem to dim anyone’s enjoyment of the movies. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/63 "2019-11-13T20:21:36Z")
I haven’t been to a movie theatre since before the iPhone/Androids became popular and ubiquitous, but if I went today, I wouldn’t mind. I don’t particularly care what goes on during the previews: I expect there to be a bit of noise, people still getting in their seats, some jostling, etc. Once the movie starts, though, no phone, please. ---
**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, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/64 "2019-11-13T20:23:00Z")
We can’t all get what we want. Everybody is there to watch the actual film. Some people think the adverts for future films, (and that is what trailers are, they are just a slightly different variety of advert), are important enough to have a cone of silence and darkness. I disagree. Until the film starts we are on a commercial break. ---
**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, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/65 "2019-11-13T20:27:24Z")
I wear an analog watch to the theater and check the actual start time of the movies. It’s almost always twenty minutes after the posted start time. I haven’t had a long series of commercials once the house lights dim. And BTW for those arriving after the posted start time, doesn’t your seat reservation expire at some point? I’d expect that if the movie is about to start and you haven’t taken your seat that I can upgrade to a better one. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/66 "2019-11-13T20:33:40Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I wear an analog watch to the theater and check the start time of the movies. It’s almost always twenty minutes after the posted start time. I haven’t had a long series of commercials once the house lights dim. I timed it last night (on an analog watch). Posted start time 7:05. Lights dim. Commercials ran until almost 7:20. Previews ran until about 7:30. Lights go dark and the feature starts. ---
**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, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/67 "2019-11-13T20:37:00Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I don’t know if you guys are going to reserved seating theaters _All_ our theatres are assigned seating. You’d still be considered rude, here. ---
**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, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/68 "2019-11-13T20:38:03Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And BTW for those arriving after the posted start time, doesn’t your seat reservation expire at some point? I’d expect that if the movie is about to start and you haven’t taken your seat that I can upgrade to a better one. If I paid for a seat, I’d expect it to be mine for the entire duration of the movie. If I accidentally showed up late and someone was in my seat, I’d politely ask them to move. If they didn’t, I’d get an usher. ---
**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, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/69 "2019-11-13T20:39:32Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > _All_ our theatres are assigned seating. You’d still be considered rude, here. For which - arriving during the previews, or talking & using my phone during them? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/70 "2019-11-13T20:49:09Z")
Question for all those who say showing up after the posted start time is rude: How much drivel would the theater need to add between the posted start and the actual start before you would change your mind? As I have been saying, last night was 25+ minutes of which at least half was unarguably ads. I think I also made it clear that I would be good with around 5 minutes of previews. I’m also good with a short blurb for the concessions stand (“Let’s all go to the lobby, let’s all go to the lo-o-oby…”). So my limit is somewhere between 6 and 25. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/71 "2019-11-13T20:51:39Z")
I honestly don’t care about people checking their phones quietly and during the movie even. I actually usually go when it’s less busy and keep my phone in the cupholder and if I see a text I’ll read it and answer it. As someone mentioned above, the seating in the theatre I go to is set up in a way that no one can see it anyway if there’s no one in my immediate vicinity. Now if the movie is busy and people are closer to me? Absolutely I will keep it put away. If only the loud popcorn and candy munchers and soda guzzlers would be as respectful to me. THAT is distracting. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/72 "2019-11-13T20:56:57Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Whenever two or more people are assembled for a single purpose, the device should be OFF. Got it? > > That applies double for live performances. You are disturbing the actors, you ill-mannered, impolite asshole. If there was a person standing up there narrating the previews I’d turn the phone off. But not for commercials. And no one objects to phone use in a real theater before the performance starts and the request for phones to be turned off is made. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/73 "2019-11-13T21:00:28Z")
For those who care, trailers are on the web. You can’t see the movie on the web, not ethically. In revival houses which showed cartoons and newsreels before the movie, no one used phones during them, since they were entertainment, not ads. Being loud and disturbing is one thing, but looking at a phone during a preview is another. Not that you can hear yourself think during most previews these days. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/74 "2019-11-13T21:18:58Z")
> [@infinitii](#): > > I honestly don’t care about people checking their phones quietly and during the movie even. I actually usually go when it’s less busy and keep my phone in the cupholder and if I see a text I’ll read it and answer it. As someone mentioned above, **the seating in the theatre I go to is set up in a way that no one can see it anyway if there’s no one in my immediate vicinity**. Now if the movie is busy and people are closer to me? Absolutely I will keep it put away. The bolded really makes a big difference. I almost wonder if this new style of cinema was made with minimizing smartphone disturbances in mind. For those who haven’t been to a movie theater in even four or five years, it might be worth it to seek out a recently-renovated theater in your area. The experience should be vastly different than a lot of what I see described in this thread. ---
**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, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/75 "2019-11-13T21:29:25Z")
What sort of theater are you going to where you can’t see someone else’s smartphone screen? The Cinemark theater I usually go (about twenty years old at this point) to has stadium-style seating and from my usual seat in the middle of the row, halfway up the tier, I can see any smartphone screen in my row or any row in front of me. ---
**Author:** ![Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgruntled_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/76 "2019-11-13T21:34:58Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > I said that during previews I whisper - usually my wife and I are asking each other how many more fucking previews do we have to sit through. You would not be able to hear me if you were sitting next to me. If the person sitting next to you can’t hear you then where in the heck is your wife sitting that she can? Sounds like that could be way more of a distraction than someone on their cell phone. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2019, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/77 "2019-11-14T00:23:30Z")
> [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](#): > > If the person sitting next to you can’t hear you then where in the heck is your wife sitting that she can? Sounds like that could be way more of a distraction than someone on their cell phone. I turn my head and speak directly into her ear. ETA: Plus as Voyager pointed out trailers are not noted for subtlety (“IN A WORLD WHERE CARMINA BURANA IS BLASTING OVER EVERY BATTLE…”) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2019, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/78 "2019-11-14T01:23:30Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Look, I’m not saying I stand up and go on a Trump rant (pro or anti) during the previews. But to me, they aren’t part of what I’m going to the movies for. To me, they are. If you need to take off your coat or be on your phone during the previews, you should take care of that shit before you enter the theater. I don’t object if people quietly and discreetly come in late, or have to quietly and discreetly leave the theater for a restroom break, or whatever. But when you’re in the theater and the lights are down, the rule is Silent and Dark and Keeping Motion to an Inconspicuous Minimum, and that applies to both you and your phone. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2019, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/79 "2019-11-14T01:29:04Z")
Once the on-screen request to turn the device off is shown, I usually begin wrapping things up and shutting down. But I don’t consider it a big deal if others keep their’s on until the movie starts. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2019, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358/80 "2019-11-14T01:51:25Z")
At my local theater, the lights don’t go down until the feature starts. Is it rude to use your phone when the lights are up, but the previews are playing? AFAIC, use your phone all you want until the feature (or short subject) starts. Previews are just ads. I like to watch them, but if there’s some low key phone use, meh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-looking-at-your-phone-in-the-movie-theater-during-the-previews-a-faux-pas/843358.md?page=3) [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=5)