so i was walking around the other day.. and thought to myself.. hey.. wouldn’t it be kool if there was like a bonjour/rendezvous/zeroconf sms protocol for cell phones that are in a very close proximity.. basically, it would just list all the phones that are near you… and you could send these people an sms.. i figure it would be better that trying to talk to these people since everyone is already walking around using their phone anyways…
and have you ever noticed how it has become socially acceptable to answer your phone mid-face-to-face conversation.. but it’s still rude to interrupt someone when they’re on the phone.. something is wrong with that.. face-to-face should always get priority every time (and mom, finally, here is an example of a redundant sentence… saying always and every time is redundant)
but why does the phone get priority? i can understand why it was once important to answer your phone when it rang… back before the answering machine or voice mail system… but today it’s does not need to get priority since these technologies ensure your message gets delivered… now, sure the phone can still take priority if you are expecting a call, but how would people like it if it was normal for people to read and reply-to hand-written letters mid-face-to-face conversation.. or if people started to make a fire (without the help of the person they are talking face-to-face with) so they could send some smoke signals to a friend.. *i wonder what ‘whats sup’ and ‘nothing much’ looks like in smoke*
I have served many a customer in the store, and right in the middle of my consultation which they so patiently waited to get because I was serving other customers-they cut me off and answer their cell. I stand there stunned initially, and excuse myself to help others. More than once that customers that answered their cell walks up to me and buds in while I am talking to another customer and continues their question. Many a time I had to tell the person, “excuse me but I am serving this customer and I’ll be with you in a minute” and they get mad at me. Many a time the customer tells me they were first even though they kept talking on the cell. Yes, that is rude. I think cells should be banned from public places such as stores.
I agree with all of you at the same time! There is a time and place for things. If you are at a store, taking up someones time which can more productively be used on someone else, dont pick up your phone…they can wait, everyone has call display, call them back, and if you’re waiting for an important phone call, then you shouldnt be waiting in line in a store in the first place. Face to face conversations, it depends. If I’m sittin here with my roomie havin a chat, the phone is bound to ring a good 10 times (#1, our convos are long, #2, lotsa ppl call our house) but i mean, i feel comfortable with my roomie and know we can continue our convo at another time. Now on the other hand, if i was visiting my good buddy Mr Zerdin over there, I wouldnt think of pickin up my phone (unless it was my mother) cuz i know our time is limited and valuable. The priority lies not in the means of conversation but in the situation the person is in when the phone rings. And everyone should be able to disconnect from the world without worrying about distractions every now and then!
“wouldnt it be kool if there was like a bonjour/rendezvous/zeroconf sms protocol for cell phones that are in a very close proximity.”
you’re describing my dream-world 😉 that combined with a working foaf-type thing that could deal with some of the complexity of our actual relationships.
i don’t think it’s rude to answer your cell phone during a face-to-face conversation. when you’re hanging out at someone’s house and their home phone rings and they go answer it, you wouldn’t expect that person to let the machine get it. however, if you are in the middle of a conversation with someone, or even just watching the game with them, and they answer their cell/home phone but take a really long time to complete the call, that’s just rude.