There was a guy next to me once who kept taking his phone out, I assume to check the time.
I get that people don’t have watches anymore, but this guy was checking the time every five minutes. I’ve taken my phone out to check the time once per movie, but not kept it out, messing with an app.
What’s acceptable? Am I a jerk for pulling my phone halfway out of my pocket to check the time for all of two seconds, and putting it right back?
To be fair, you could be a jerk for lots of reasons. 
At the very least, though, I hope you shielded the phone with your hands and body as much as possible so its light would ideally be visible only to you.
I had this happen to me at the opera a couple of years ago (Eugene Onegin, at the Met). The guy sitting next to me was playing with his phone all night. I don’t think he really wanted to be there.
It’s annoying enough at a movie theater, but given the difference between the cost of movie tickets and the cost of opera tickets, it’s exponentially more annoying at the opera.
At the intermission, I called the guy on it. He was shocked and angry. I think he genuinely didn’t understand why anyone would be annoyed. I stood my ground. He didn’t pull it out again after the intermission.
The person sitting next to me was texting pretty much continuously for 20 minutes until I asked him to stop. To his credit he did and apologized.
Then there was a baby that was crying intermittently throughout. Who brings a baby to a movie, let alone a 9 pm showing?
Just go with a friend and scream out, “Oh my God, he’s from Florida!”
Too soon?
The polite thing is simple: When a group of people are assembled for a single purpose, turn off the device.
I once sat next to a woman at a concert and every fucking song she had to call someone and say “Hear that? Guess where I am. Can you hear that?” After the fifth song, I told her “I paid to hear the singer, not to hear you on the phone.” She put it away.
??? I don’t get it…
(But it does sound like fun!)
Yes, it’s too soon. After you explained the reference would’ve been better.
There was a shooting in a Florida theater over bad theater manners…
I’ve always been temped to do something like this. The most I’ve even done is join in with a crowd of people complaining at one, particularly, obnoxious jerk.
Well there are such things as signal jammers, but they’re illegal in the US except for use by law enforcement or correctional institutions. The movie theaters themselves count be constructed to block signs (ie a built in Faraday cage), but that would be expensive & possible violate zoning ordinances.
People who can’t arrange a baby sitter, but still want a night out. It’s even more annoying when the kids are old enough to be aware of what’s happening on screen, but it’s hilariously inappropriate for children (say an R-rated horror film).
My wife and I kid each other that we are “jerk magnets” at any event we attend. The least courteous people seem to flock to the area where we are seated. It’s quite an expense to attend a concert or show nowadays (usually at least $60 per ticket) and we are perplexed that some people would spend this kind of money just to sit around texting friends, taking photos and selfies, and making calls.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, we get some pretty angry and disrespectful responses when we ask people to put away their phones or pads. One woman actually started to climb over the seat to get at us. Believe me, were very nice about asking her to cut back on the phone use other than during intermission. I have no idea what she intended to do, but her SO basically grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back to her seat. From what I could tell, she was talking and texting to her babysitter most of the time.
Is it that people don’t realize that they are distracting others, that they think it’s their God-given right to use a phone anytime they choose to, or that they never learned basic courtesy?
All of that plus addiction.
Oh. Damn: I was peeved, but not that peeved!
BTW, today at work, one of my co-workers spent the whole day texting while working. Productivity suffered.
(Should I report this to management? I don’t want to be a fink…but wrong is wrong.)
It’s not that you and your Mrs. are jerk magnets; you’re just outnumbered by assholes that don’t know how to conduct themselves in public. I’m so bummed out over not being able to go to a movie - my former favorite pass time- because it’s been ruined by cunts that can’t stay off their electronic device for two hours that just talking about it is getting me all verklempt :mad: :o. I’d really like someone who engages in this rude behavior to step up and explain just what the hell makes them think it’s acceptable.
This is one of those times when it would be better if you were a wookie in a pub instead of a buckwheat song.
I’ll take you to a movie, and I’ll growl at the assholes for ya.
Well, I’m not actually someone who does this (I don’t even own a cell phone currently) but I know the answer: to an awful lot of people OTHER people are only sort of theoretical people. They should consider the impact of their actions on OTHER people? What a weird notion.
I’ll take you up on that, ebeard. Between my singing and your frightening growl we’ll show 'em who’s boss.
Maybe if you didn’t sing during the movie? Maybe the people love your voice and were using their phones as spotlights?
Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in this, I’m just an avid fan.
Alamo Drafthouse is a wonderful chain of movie theaters that has a hard-ass policy about talking, texting and using phones during the movie showings. They built one in our area a few years ago, we went to one movie there and the experience ruined us for all other theaters. This year we went to see so many movies (around 50) that my husband is going to reach the top ranking on his VIP membership card.
They do special screenings for old movies like movie parties, quote-alongs and such. But for first-run movies they are strict. Their policy makes you, the customer, feel more confident about shushing people or calling management on them. I suspect if someone ever reacted incorrectly to being told to turn the phone off the entire audience would back you up and beat the snot out of the violator, and the staff would watch and carry the body out afterwards. But really, they are so up front and hard-ass that we have never had a problem with jerks.
Yes. My store has let people go who do that.
I told one young man after he answered his phone that he was here to work, not to talk on the phone and to put it away. So when the person called back and he didn’t answer, she called the store’s phone and asked for him! I answered it, handed him the phone, and after he had finished told him I was not his personal secretary, that was not his personal phone line, if it ever happened again, I would report it, and I was only giving him that break because he was a very good worker, but he had to follow the rules.
He’s still with us.