ANGRY MINUTE #0032: Cellphone Etiquette
It seems we now live in a society that has forsaken common courtesy. I was raised to have respect and honor; but as I look around I see those who have nothing but selfish intentions. They only care how their actions affect their lives and care nothing for those around them.
One of the rudest activities I know of in this modern society is that of cellphone usage. Now don’t get me wrong, the cellphone is one of the greatest inventions of the past 20 years. Hell without cellphones our lives would be immensely different. But as one radioactive photographer once told me, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
People seem to not understand this; they think their cellphone is a RIGHT and not a privilege. So they talk on it NO MATTER WHAT. We’ve all been in line behind that douchebag who is talking away on his phone, and because his attention is diverted he doesn’t realize he is holding up the line in some way. Or how about when you are having a conversation with someone and their cellphone rings so they interrupt your conversation to answer it. How rude! And I find it especially rude when they answer that call just to tell the person on the other end that they will “call them back.” Why not let it go to VoiceMail? Why do you HAVE to interrupt the conversation?
I would just like people to learn how to use their cellphones responsibility. We should not live in a society where we are controlled by our own devices. If you call me and I don’t answer my phone it might be because I am in the midst of doing something and I will try to call or even text you back after. Don’t call me ten times within five minutes UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY! Pisses me off when a friend calls me multiple times and when I answer the call it isn’t an emergency! I saw you called me the FIRST time so just have some patience and get over yourself; you are NOT the center of the universe!
So how about when you get into your car you hang up the phone and try to DRIVE for a change? Or how about when you are in line at the store you SHUT YOUR FRAKIN PHONE OFF and stop being a jackass to the others in line? How about you turn your phone OFF in the movie theater (even using text in a movie is RUDE and you should be dragged out of the theater and beaten till you are crippled. There are people behind you that are being distracted by that light emanating from your hands JACKASS). Is this REALLY that hard? Is our society such technology addicts we have to be on the device every second of every day?
It pisses me off!
So what about cellphone or cellphone usage pisses you off? Let’s share our anger about these portable devices! For if we don’t change I fear we will be a society of drones attached to phones!!!
What pisses me off is when you have people coming into your place of business and they come to the front desk and they are talking on their cell phones. People will come to my desk and expect me to wait for them to be done with their conversation before I ask them if I can help them.
That totally pisses me off. I have gotten to the point that if they do that I ask the other person behind them to come around and I help them first and WHEN the person decides to get off the damn phone I make them wait a couple of minutes before I help them.
I think it is TOTALLY rude. When I used to ask them if I could help them I had a woman say to me, “Jesus, can’t you see I am on the phone?” I said “Yes I can, please let me know when you are done.” When she was done she said “Okay I am done” and then proceeded to start telling me what she needed. I said “I’m sorry, you will have to wait I am busy at the moment, I need to finish this.” I was sending an email to a friend about lunch plans. She was pissed and went off telling me how rude I was and I just looked at her and said I’m sorry you were obviously busy when you walked in so I was doing some of my work. “What can I do for you?” Well she was in a huff and went where she needed to go. But I will tell you this, she comes in all the time and has never been on the cell phone again when she has came in.
What I’ve started to do is put my phone on silent, and tell people it’s on silent. Then they can’t expect an instant text or for you to answer your phone. It feels like a great weight has been lifted when I do that.
p.s. It was the photographer’s uncle that said that, not the photographer.