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Most People Use Their Phones During Social Events, Despite Thinking It Harms Conversation
Mark Wilson points out that the Pew Research Center has released a new report on mobile etiquette in the age of smartphones. 90% of U.S. adults now have cellphones and carry them around frequently. Pew's survey looked into how this is changing social norms with regard to shifting attention away from physical-world interactions. Most people think it's fine to use a cellphone while walking the streets or waiting in line, but 62% think it's not OK at a restaurant, an 88% disapprove of using one at a family dinner. Disapproval of using a cellphone in a meeting, movie theater, or church is almost universal. 89% of people say they used their cellphone during their most recent social activity, whether it was texting, checking the web, or snapping a picture. Despite this, 82% say cellphone use generally hurts the conversation. 79% of adults say they occasionally encounter loud or annoying cellphone behavior from others in public, and more than half say they often overhear intimate details of other people's lives because of it.
...even when you are busy doing very important stuff with your phone!
Rudeness? Tell me about it!!!!!
The really funny thing is to watch the group effect of this Pavlovian response.
The "ding" goes off, and everybody in earshot is suddenly frisking themselves for their phone because, oh my fucking god, teh soshul netwerkz and teh emailz.
I figure you could fuck up most gatherings of people by having a device which could emulate the "ding" sound of several different mobile devices. Just walk through crowds causing all of these people to panic and think something life-affirming is going to happen and they'll have missed it.
I'm glad I came late to mobile technology. I'll leave mine locked in a drawer (or at home) and deal with it later.
I have no interest in being so tightly tethered to an electronic device that it becomes ingrained ... I bet there's a measurable physiological response to that "ding" in a lot of people. It's pathetic, but I'd be curious to see what brain centers are impacted ... probably all of them, and your body now things it's a survival imperative.
Me, I think it's pretty pathetic to watch it.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
I don't give a crap about your electronic device.
If you want to be a selfish bastard, do it on your own time. But don't waste my fucking time because you have the attention span of a child.
Whoa! Your company has Fucking Time? We barely get Coffee Breaks here.
As for your boss's behavior, I put the blame on you. Don't EVER schedule a meeting during Fucking Time! I can't believe someone actually has to tell you this.