More Mobile Phone Rudeness

from the time-is-more-flexible-this-way dept

Thu, Jul 3rd 2003 10:37am — Mike Masnick

Yet another study about mobile phone rudeness (going along with the one we posted earlier this week has determined that a stunning 71% of people are now consistently late for social events because they can reschedule at the last minute with their mobile phones. 70% say they've completely canceled meetings at the very last minute using their mobile phone, and 78% say they've gotten out of "awkward situations" by sending a text message rather than calling. From the sound of this, it appears to be focused on the UK, where text messaging is a lot more popular than the US. Also, the study found that 89% of people think others need to have better etiquette when using a mobile phone. Yet another example of the way mobile phones are changing the way people go about their day (not always for the better).

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6 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 3 Jul 2003 @ 11:29am

No Subject Given
This past summer I did work in Italy for about 2 months. It's funny because in the middle of a meeting, someone will get a phone call, answer and start chatting away like they're not doing anyhting important. In the middle of a conversation, rather than let the Voice Mail get a message from the caller they will just stop mid-sentence and chat away expecting you to wait patiently for them to finish their phone call. Some how this is socially and professionally acceptable in Italy, I found it incredibly rude. When people complain about how rude people are in the U.S. are w/ cellphones, I laugh and think nothing of it becasue it's not a fraction of what's happening elsewhere in the world.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Jul 2003 @ 12:34pm

Cell Phone etiquette can happen
I was in Tokyo a few months ago, and people cover their mouths when talking on cell phones in public. Letting a phone go off in public is considered a pretty bad taboo. The subway system also had signs advising people to hold their backpacks in their hands to make more space.

It is possible to bring order from chaos. The Victorian emphasis on manners came about because there was a period of chaos when the new middle classes were uncivilized.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Jul 2003 @ 4:39pm

I believe the Isrealies have a law....
....preventing the use of a cellular during the process of "evacuation" (urinating/#2).

...meanwhile, in Japan, it's not uncommon to see people using their cellular on the train (notice I said "see", not "hear"). If you're in a theater, you'd damned well better turn your phone off. Besides Laurence Fishburn yelling at you, in Japan, you could be ejected from the theater. Of course, there's always the Bosozuki who are organizing (and documenting) their exploits via smart-flash-mob style organization (BTW, it's illegal in Japan to even be a spectator of the Bosozuki events).

Cellular phone service cancalation systems are in the wings just waiting for the Victorian era cellular mannners repression to take hold over subscriber revenue.
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confman, 7 Jul 2003 @ 1:16am

Re: No Subject Given
Just as rude are all those bozos who sit in conferences connected to WiFi and read their email and surf the web all through presentations. You don't want to listen? Well go somewhere else!

Mobile phones going off in presentations is annoying too of course.
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Mike (profile), 7 Jul 2003 @ 1:33am

Re: No Subject Given
Just as rude are all those bozos who sit in conferences connected to WiFi and read their email and surf the web all through presentations. You don't want to listen? Well go somewhere else!

I disagree. If the presenters can't keep the attendees attention, then that's their problem. The folks who use WiFi connections at conferences often add to the discussion quite a bit, because they look up additional information, and begin a meta-discussion that is often worthwhile.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jul 2003 @ 3:57pm

Re: No Subject Given
...except for that hopeless pr0n hound each orgnization has...

He's probably just sitting in on your presentation because he knows nobody will bother him.

Of course, there's always EtherPEG... Nothing like letting that run in the background... and then just before you take a break or halfway into the presentation segway into what those rude b@573rd5 are looking at. That'll get their attention pretty damned quickly... Be sure to introduce Bob from personnel and Alice from legal (in attendance at your request) just after you perform this little maneuver.
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