BS: Overheard Conversations: Cell phones

Subject: RE: BS: Overheard Conversations: Cell phones
From: Irene M
Date: 23 Oct 07 - 03:54 PM

I remember a time, not too long ago, when if you walked round shouting to yourself, someone called the little white men in the little white coats in the little white van.
Now they're all at it.
When mobile phones first started to crop up, I thought they had all been to the Ewan McColl school of traditional singing. (DIY feedback).

I refuse to have one of the things, as I refuse to be electronically tagged.

Subject: RE: BS: Overheard Conversations: Cell phones
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 23 Oct 07 - 03:40 PM

I really object to people who answer telephones whilst in mid conversation with me. I'm standing right in front of you, you were dealing with me first, and now you pick up the phone and don't say, 'hold one moment please'? Maybe I'll put you on 'hold' whilst I phone my friend.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Overheard Conversations: Cell phones
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Oct 07 - 03:39 PM

But many people broadcast average, boring, domestic issues also. Or gossip and chat. The point is, they don't seem to get it that they should take their calls to private places and not inflict them on everyone else. Being a public place I suppose there is no "right to silence" or "right to not have personal information shared with you" either, but it would be nice.

I started this thread for a couple of reasons, though. One was to point out the problems of cell phone proliferation and some users' lack of judgement when using them. The other is because these people who share their private lives this way are fair game for examination or (perhaps) ridicule. What is the most outlandish or astonishing personal call you've heard conducted in a public place?

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Overheard Conversations: Cell phones
From: Rapparee
Date: 23 Oct 07 - 03:21 PM

If it's a public place, you have no "right to privacy." And if you are a public official and you discuss private matters in public you can bet your bottom that it will be all over town before you hang up.

Subject: RE: BS: Overheard Conversations: Cell phones
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 23 Oct 07 - 03:20 PM

Here is a trick. Stop and stare at the person on the phone. IF they don't get the message and ask what you are doing, simply add something to the conversation they are having.   

It might not stop them from doing it again, but it will brighten you day.

Subject: BS: Overheard Conversations: Cell phones
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Oct 07 - 03:17 PM

I could hardly believe the conversation I overheard while buying cat food at Petsmart last week. A uniformed Fort Worth police officer behind me in the checkout line was on the phone. It seems his unmarried daughter is pregnant and having a horrible time with morning sickness and is having difficulty continuing with her college course work and she's missing a lot of work with her employer. Her boyfriend isn't helpful and doesn't understand her. Geez, Louise! Did everyone on that side of the store really need to hear all of that?

Cell phones are handy. It's the only form of phone my 19-year-old college student daughter has, and it can be a lifeline. I pay for her phone while she's in school so I'm sure she has a way to contact me if she needs to. But these prolonged conversations by total strangers in public places and in inappropriate settings drive me a bit nuts sometimes. They fill the air with their conversations in restaurants, where you perhaps want to speak quietly with other diners at your table. The people who talk on the phone the whole time while someone is waiting on them in the grocery store checkout line are delivering the unspoken message to the clerk "you aren't important enough for me to be polite to you."

Why do some people even seem to amplify their voices when they're on the phone in public, as if they think their phone call might be interesting to the strangers around them?

Since when did talking to the person who isn't there in the room with you trump the courtesy of communicating with the people who are present? And people talking with phones held to the ear while driving, especially in traffic, are down right scary.

My daughter is good about when and where she talks because that was something we discussed when she got the phone. She knows not to try to drive and talk, it rolls over to her voice mail if she's on the road. We excuse ourselves and find a private space or call back if we simply must talk to the caller. Did these rude cell phone users simply miss having a mother teach them about good manners?

What conversations have you heard? Feel free to tell-all. The original caller did, after all.

SRS