cell phone use

[miu_lin]

Saw this article on Wired about how to shush people who are using the cell phone around them. Why are people annoyed by others using their cell phones while they're not annoyed by two or more people who are physically there and carrying on a conversation? The only thing I can think of is nosiness. We don't usually see people telling another

Comments

[dlighe]

Part of the problem, I think, is that people tend to talk louder on cell phones. Two people talking on a bus would have quiet conversation. One person talking tends to be heard over the whole bus. Or not. Just a thought.

Good point

[miu_lin]

That's a good point. Perhaps they should focus on that instead of just generalizing everyone talking on the cell phone.

[antuvschle]

It might not be that they're nosy, particularly-- it may just be about how easy or difficult it is to tune something out. Things that make sense and are normal every day things, we sort of process and dismiss quickly-- things that don't make sense, such as one half of a conversation, or a conversation in another language-- stick out like a sore thumb and become more of an unavoidable nuisance.

And I think there are appropriate and inappropriate times and places for cell phone use.

[preposthuman]

Generally I don't think people get that annoyed if someone is speaking quietly on their phone. However people definitely tend to speak louder because they must communicate through a speaker and entirely with sound. In person we have body language and lip reading to make speech easier and softer. You can try to alert them that they are being loud, but they may just resume to their previous volume in a few minutes. Secondly a person on a phone sort of enter their own world and be less aware of how their antics or volume may be affecting other people. Thirdly, another annoyance is phone rings. Some people keep their phones rings really loud and that always pisses me off