# That will teach you to turn your F\*\*\*ing cell phone off during a show! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318 "2005-11-22T20:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/81 "2005-11-24T03:06:35Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Doctors on call 24/7 generally don’t attend, and disrupt theater productions. Jerks, and mommies with entitlement issues who need to take calls from their homies, and babysitters, do. No, wrong. It has been mathematically proven that the most prevalent reason is that people simply forget to turn them off (see post #48 for the cooraborating data). ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/82 "2005-11-24T03:11:52Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I truely hope that you never have to deal with a chronically ill or _very_ elderly parent/child/loved one. To tell someone that is in a high stress time of their life that they cannot seek a few _very_ short hours of down time is intense cruelty. > > … > > Sod off. Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up the horse there, Sparky. I didn’t see in **King of Soup** ’s post anywhere that he said “relatives of sick people can’t go enjoy themselves,” just that he didn’t approve of the choosing a venue of entertainment that would require them to spoil someone _else’s_ evening when the inevitable emergency arose. I don’t care to speak for him, but since I basically agree with his sentiment (if not his phrasing) then I want clarification how you got your above arguments from this post: > [@](#): > > Sure you love them, but what exactly entitles you to leave their sides for your entertainment **and then demand the right to spoil my evening on the grounds of your devotion to them? Pick some other diversion** , or stay home[.] Emphasis added. He specifically said that among the options was to pick a diversion that didn’t require you to piss off a room full of paying customers. Such a person could go golfing, or rent a movie, or go to a baseball game, or to a museum, or any number of things where if a message came through, he could leave on an instant’s notice with no discourtesy or disruption. So… speaking as somebody who _has_ had to take care of a sick relative during a period of high stress and who was smart enough to avoid movie theaters for the duration, can you explain what your real objection here is? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/83 "2005-11-24T04:10:09Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > No, wrong. It has been mathematically proven that the most prevalent reason is that people simply forget to turn them off (see post #48 for the cooraborating data). But you see, **aruvqan** has made it clear that she won’t turn her phone off. Rather, the other 200 people in the audience must rely on her infallible memory about setting it to vibrate. But as you say, it’s been mathematically proven people forget, as in post #48. It still seems to me that people like doctors, or heads of state, or super heroes, being accustomed to being frequently on call, would also then be more attentive to what their pager or cell phone is going to do. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/84 "2005-11-24T05:33:29Z")
Yet somehow doctors on call, EMTs, parents with sick children, and what have you all managed to be reachable before cell phones were around. Why is your need to maintain the option of being reached more important than the desire of everyone else to see a movie or play without interruption? Aren’t there many other entertainment alternatives you could avail yourself of until such a time arises that allows you to visit a cinema establishment without your cell phone? Just out of curiousity, how often does such a phonecall occur? As previous posters have posited, isn’t it more likely that calls received in the middle of a performance are likely to be frivolous and a waste of everyone’s time? ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/85 "2005-11-24T05:35:00Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I truely hope that you never have to deal with a chronically ill or _very_ elderly parent/child/loved one. Well, too late for that, but if I hadn’t yet, it’s almost inevitable that I would sometime, and of course it is almost certain that I will again. That’s the downside of close relationships, familial and otherwise, but I certainly wouldn’t choose the alternative – detachment from loved ones in extreme distress – that you’re wishing on me. One thing I’ve learned from experience is how easy it is to “share” victim status with the afflicted and how toxic it can be to mix self-pity with your sadness and anxiety. It skews your perspective with respect to all your relationships, including that with strangers. > [@aruvqan](#): > > To tell someone that is in a high stress time of their life that they cannot seek a few _very_ short hours of down time is intense cruelty. One sign that your perspective is skewed is to take the phrase “avoid live theater” and interpret it as “you may not seek any respite from the work and stress of caring for your loved ones.” In fact, I didn’t even say you must shun the theater, I just said you should behave yourself while you’re there by not disrupting the performance. I still don’t know exactly what harm you think you’ll suffer from the delay. Believe me, if there’s a crisis, calling you is _not_ going to be the very first order of business anyway, nor should it be. > [@aruvqan](#): > > If you ask any family advocate in a hospice or eldercare situaton they will confirm that the healthy members need to take care of their physical and mental health. Part of caring for your mental health is getting away from the situation for a few hours and doing ANYTHING except worrying about the situation at hand. Yup, and many of them will go so far as to tell you that the way to do that is to actually _get_ away, put your trust in others, stop thinking of yourself as indispensible and turn the damn cell phone off for a couple of hours. If you can’t bring yourself to do that, I understand. But what would you and your family advocate think of someone who managed to introduce disruption and aggravation into your necessary relaxation? It’s another sign of skewed perspective to assume your need for recreation, great though it is, is greater than that of all of a group of people you don’t even know. Outdoor physical exercise, by the way, is a great way to unwind, can be tailored to suit your needs without considering others, accomodates cellphone usage, and is good for you besides. Recreation/relaxation is a basic need. Any _particular_ amusement is just a whim. > [@aruvqan](#): > > Sod off. I am sorry for your situation. If I knew you I might even try to help. But out of the entire world, right now, you have no special need to go to a theater and (if you insist on constant phone contact) a pretty good reason not to attend until you can comfortably be out of touch during the performance. This is a minor hardship, if it is one at all, and it is necessary because of your obligation to be polite even if you don’t feel like it. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/86 "2005-11-24T06:42:56Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > There already are such devices - there are just illegal in the USA at this point, well, at least commercially. > [Here](http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/story1a092200.html) is a link that will tell you all about it. That was an interesting article. Thanks for sharing it. I liked this part: > [@](#): > > At least one company offers a technological alternative to jamming, and others are working on them. > > Zetron Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., manufactures a system that can detect cell phones and warn users to turn them off. It can cover up to a 90-foot radius. BlueLinx Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., is working on Q-Zone, a system that will turn off cell phones or silence their ringers when they enter a protected space. It relies on shortwave technology called Bluetooth that hasn’t been widely adopted by cell phone makers and may not be on the market for another three to four years. NetLine is developing a similar system that will work with existing European digital cellular telephones, but not American devices. > > In some countries, jammers are gaining currency as a legitimate defense against cell phone abusers. In Japan, Tokyo-based Medic Inc. sold thousands of its Wave Wall jammers to restaurants, funeral directors and others before the government limited their sale. Now jammers must be licensed for use in Japan, and used only in spaces such as live-performance theaters where cell phones are judged by the government to be a nuisance. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/87 "2005-11-24T14:16:21Z")
Moderator mumbles to himself: I did think about whether this was really the Pit, but decided it’s about theatre and interruptions, not just about how damn annoying cellphones can be, so it stays here the nonce. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/88 "2005-11-24T15:40:19Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Moderator mumbles to himself: I did think about whether this was really the Pit, but decided it’s about theatre and interruptions, not just about how damn annoying cellphones can be, so it stays here the nonce. Man, everybody’s right, that little nonce has you moderators wrapped 'round his little…finger, is it? Joke, joke, joke… Your comment prompts me to admit that I’m partly responsible for the hostility in this thread, and I promise to be good until I actually get punched in the nose, which is unlikely on an internet message board. But we _are_ talking about what is good or bad behavior, and that necessarily entails a fair amount of personal judgment of others. We’re also raising issues that entail a certain amount of real-life, off-board stress and strain, the effects of which have already shown up in a few posts, with no blood drawn and no harm done (as far as I’m concerned, at least). I guess what I mean is, your patience is appreciated. This discussion has the chance to get somewhere other than already-reached heights of invective, which is its likely fate in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/89 "2005-11-24T16:56:33Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > They WOULD be begging for a suit for someone who missed an emergency call. But that device might also cause problems for ushers and crew members trying to communicate by radio. I don’t know how all that stuff works… That’s a suit that should be immediatelty tossed out with penalties. If your call is so important, you should be by a land-line phone, and not in a god-d-amned theatre. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/90 "2005-11-24T17:39:15Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > If your call is so important, you should be by a land-line phone, and not in a god-d-amned theatre. I think we’ve already seen that people with important calls get them on cell phones sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/91 "2005-11-24T18:48:36Z")
Cellphones ringing during the show are just the newest addition to the massive list of things that an idiot can do to interrupt a live performance. I’ve been doing theatre in local, semi- and professional venues for over twenty years, and have a whole host of stories about disruptive audience members. Some of them are amusing - the old girl who knew the words to some of our instrumental underscore and sang along in full voice comes to mind - but most of them are run-of-the-mill rants about how hopelessly inconsiderate a number of people are. Crinkly candy wrappers (they’re louder than you think). The persistant cougher. And my personal favourite, the person who repeats every other line of dialogue for his/her hard-of-hearing companion. And don’t even get me started on the way some people’s children behave… My take on it is this: As has been mentioned, most theatres have a warning either printed in a program, posted on a sign or announced over a PA at the start of the show. I feel that if a patron chooses to disregard the warning, the operators of the theatre have full rights to chuck them out. If it’s a real emergency, they’ll probably have to leave anyway. But an actor storming off the stage to confront someone personally is equally inconsiderate and unprofessional. The Stage Manager and Front Of House Manager should be in communication, and the actor could’ve addressed his complaint through appropriate channels. thwartme ---
**Author:** ![haardvark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@haardvark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/haardvark)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/92 "2005-11-25T01:28:22Z")
Saw a Sandra Shamas (spoken word monologuist) performace at the NAC in Ottawa a few years ago. Major signage everywhere asking patrons to turn their phones off. Big announcement at the outset of the show asking to turn phones off. Artiste comes out and says, “Before I begin, please, everyone, just TURN OFF YOUR PHONE…I want to take you into the moment with me” or some such. 15 minutes later, phone goes off. Shamas stops in midsentence and glares in amazement at the guilty party. GP calls out, “It’s for you!” Shamas then shoots GP the bird, and replies, “IT’S for _you_!” ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/93 "2005-11-25T04:57:26Z")
I’m the last person to defend rudeness in any venue, live theater, movie theater, etc. But my spouse is also on call on a regular basis – he manages the patient information computer systems at a large hospital, so if the staff needs to be in touch with him, it’s his responsibility to be available. If the system crashes, But there are ways to deal with it that don’t involve having to give up living life. We try to schedule attending live shows for periods when he’s not on call, but sometimes he ends up having to cover call when we’ve got tickets, so that’s when those odd commodities called “common sense” and “courtesy” come into play. We get aisle seats, if need be trading with other people to get less-desirable seats, so he can get up with minimal disturbance.s He sets his phone to vibrate, and if goes off, he goes clear outside before even looking at it. And if it’s unavoidable that he turn it off for a while (like he has to go into a medical facility that won’t allow them), he arranges to have someone else cover call for him for that brief period. I’ve been far more annoyed over the years by loud talkers than by cell phones. There’s no way to jam that that I’m aware of, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/94 "2005-11-25T06:11:31Z")
An old rag and a little superglue works wonders. Uh, or so I am told. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318.md?page=4)