Okay, Listen Here

Okay, Listen Here

Monday, September 17, 2012

Go With the Flow or No?



Technology is wonderful Really. I have written books on a Smith Corona typewriter, all the while making a list of facts that had to be checked by going to the public library. (Those books are in typing paper boxes, safely tucked away where no one will ever have to see them. But that's another blog.)

Thank goodness those days are gone. But with the good comes the bad—though I am beginning to question whether what I think is bad, really is. I know that just because something annoys me, doesn’t make it wrong. For instance, I don't like it when people put their hand to their ear like a telephone receiver when they are recounting a phone conversation, but that doesn’t mean that is an ill mannered thing to do. It just means it's a pet peeve of mine and mine to deal with.

Okay, I just realized my pet peeve example is about the phone. Obviously, I have a lot of angst about the phone. Maybe it comes from my teenage years, when my friends and I had to wait for HIM to call.

I digress. Big surprise.

So I have a question. No sarcasm. I want an honest answer. Do you think these things are ill mannered? I will never like them, but I can accept that the rest of the world is not obligated to refrain from visiting my pet peeves on me.


  • Laying the cell phone beside one's plate for anything other than keeping up with the time.
  • Texting in polite company. By polite company, I mean at the table and in a conversation area.
  • Making people look at pictures, Pintrest, and videos.
  • Having anything more than a very short phone conversation in a car with other people.
  • Sitting with another person in polite company joined in a little private tandem technology linked world.
  • Eyes constantly on tablet in polite company. Some might say this is no different from flipping through a magazine, which I think is sometimes okay and sometime not, depending on the formality of the situation.


So tell me what you think. I need an attitude adjustment.

10 comments:

  1. I can add one to the list: checking one's cell phone WHILE DOING PILATES or in the middle of ZUMBA. Seriously rude. I have two schools of thought: either we're all in it together--it's a party of sorts where we tweet or post about our meetings/gatherings to get the word out about our organization--have seen this done successfully. OR we check the dang things at the door in a pretty basket with all phones on silent.

    Phone calls? Ha, here's another one for you. I had a friend come visit who keeps a daily blog about her life in the US (she's dutch by birth), and I drove her to Chattanooga to see the sights. Well, she was texting comments on her blog, inputting info on her facebook and mentioning posts from people I DON'T KNOW OR CARE ABOUT throughout the entire journey. She was WITH ME and I was driving and it was so rude. I love her. That's her world. But I still hated it. And you know what I did the next time we got together? I made her drive.

    That worked to a point, but she can still "talk and text" without her hands leaving the wheel.

    Seriously. I have another friend who can't be without her phone--and you know what? That answering machine thing? It's a tool. Unless you're expecting a call from a doctor etc. that you must answer, you can let the answering machine pick up when you are with another person.

    Just saying.

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    Replies
    1. Texting and driving--that leaves the realm of bad manners and enters the land of dangerous stupid.

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    2. She has a hands free voice activated texting option. So her hands never leave the wheel, but then it's still rude in my opinion. LOL

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  2. Unless you are expecting a very important call (i.e. a job interview call-back, you have a dying relative or a baby on the way), you can take a break from the phone while in polite company. Now I'll admit, I keep photos of my granddaughter on my iPod and will whip it out when folks ask about her. It's just so much easier than printing out the photos. I've let convenience rule.

    I dislike folks who roam through a store talking (usually very loudly) the whole time. Just last week I heard one side of a woman's travails with her soon-to-be-ex-husband. Yes, I've used my cell phone in the grocery store before to call someone to check the ingredients of something I've decided to make on impulse. But I keep it short and simple and as quiet as possible. But now Publix has free wifi so I can move to a corner somewhere and not block the aisle (another pet peeve) and use my iPod to look up the recipe online and see for myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. See, here's the thing. It's about asking to see the pictures. This past weekend my friend Dr. Great Smile commented that Baby Great Smile had sent pictures of tailgating in The Grove and I wanted to see them. I asked.

      I am so with you on that grocery store thing. I too, will make a call if need be, but I find and corner where I am out of the way--some of the same corners I used to take Precious Angel for a Come to Jesus Meeting.

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  3. I think we've spread ourselves too thin and this behavior is an off-shoot of that, plus a need to feel connected in a disconnected world. It speaks a lot about our society today. Is it right? No. There are times when the need to have a phone nearby precedes etiquette but no, typically the focus should be on your guest or visitor. ;)

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  4. I usually handle these situations by asking myself one question. "What would Julia Sugarbaker do?"

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  5. I was going to comment but it looks like y'all covered it all!

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  6. The Julia Rule is a good one! I have to admit though, I may be one of those obnoxious people. That said, I do think a disconnect could be in my near future. Data plans are not that necessary if you ask me. But my issue is that I have a child with insulin dependent Diabetes. Therefore I seem to feel the need to be on call every minute of every hour, every day. This really is not necessary. I just need to get over myself and let her leave the crib. Besides, it'd be a community service, too. Then the rest of the family would not be walking around Publix talking to me but rather dealing with their own issues independently and quietly. I know they do it....buggars!

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