Stop with the Cell phones already — Page 2

The use of cell phones in public places, from crowded elevators to public transportation to theatres, drives me crazy, and I curse the media for pushing the image of a moronic populace carrying a cell phone as a necessary lifeline to everything from an iPod to a fear of being alone. I hear people walking through a store telling the world beyond the person to whom they're speaking every bit of their personal, often trivial, lives; I sat in a performance of RENT where the idiot lady in front of me checked her messages and text messaged every time she got bored by a wonderful performance, about every 15 minutes or so. On a crosstown bus in Manhattan, I heard a young lady tell her listener and every rider about her multiple sex partners; on a train to Albany, I was kept awake by a noisy businesswoman bitching out her staff and family, cosying up to colleagues, and making life miserable to everyone in the compartment. I see men walking down Broadway with a phone glued to their ears gesturing madly and trying to hear what's going on. I saw a lady at the corner of 82nd and Amsterdam throw a noisy fight to the world beyond her cellphone as she bitched out her listener in public. Can't all this crap be done at home?

These idiots shouldn't be allowed to buy theatre tickets; they should be forced to pass a strenuous quiz to get a license to attend a live performance of anything. Beating's too good for them. Bring back lethal injection for terminal stupidity.

At theaters they should just start arresting people for disturbing the peace.

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I agree with those who suggested actually blocking the signal. Its the best possible solution and its not only being considered for NY theaters but also movie theaters as well. If people can not responsibly shut off their cell phone than it should be up to management to take action.

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Sorry for seeing this so late Undi.
I find that in Chicago cell phones rarely go off at the ballet.
Not that it never happens but there is an announcement before the performance begins and most people turn them off at that point.
I have to say that when I went to see The Da Vinci Code last weekend one man's cell phone went off twice and he took the calls! He got out of his seat, walked to the hallway that leads out to the theatre lobby and proceeded to speak full volume. He was so rude! I know that the people around me and I had a momentary fantasy of smashing his head against a wall and taking care of things that way but we just put up with his selfish, inconsiderate actions. How hard is it to at the very least turn one's cell phone on vibrate and go all the way out to the lobby? And of course if something is that urgent why go to a play, movie or ballet in the first place?
Sorry to say that cell phone use in theatres is just another side of the incosiderate behavior of society in general.

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I've also never heard this happen at the Opera......it's absolutely ridiculous that this should happen.

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Don't these people tell their friends/family where they are going to be? That if something comes up to either wait or to expect to leave a VM on the phone that will be checked at intermission or afterwards?

When folks answer the phone and proceed to have an inane conversation that is so incredibly rude, arrogant, and inappropriate that I want to smack them. A society of egotists.

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I think a lot of times with cell phones the problem is people turn just their RINGERS off, put them on silent, but don't turn off their text message ring/voicemail ring/whatever. Just TURN THEM OFF, people. If you have a real emergency going on where someone may need to reach you quickly (i.e., grandma's in the middle of surgery and Aunt Tutu's gonna call if something goes wrong) you shouldn't even be at the theatre. Save your battery and save some embarassment.

Seriously, I've been to shows where people are surfing the web on their little sidekicks or whatever, and also complaining about the crappy signal. (???) I don't get it. Can you really not survive without your email or whatever?

I don't understand the texting phenomenon either. I go see plays on school field trips a lot and half the kids are sitting there texting each other. It's like, if you hate the show that much, go out in the lobby and talk to each other, or sleep or whatever but don't ruin the show for me with a million little cell phone lights.

They should jam the cell messages AND ADD THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE AT THE OPENING OF THE SHOW "The use of cell phones or recodring devices in this theater is illegal. Incomming cellular phone service is jammed in this theater."

If the doctors are too stupid to make other arrangements, they deserve the massive lawsuits they will get (but the theater management should be off the hook).

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Who was the composer who smacked someone with a playbill for talking? We should all try that for talking AND for cell phone ringing. .

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DAME- did you really do that?

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This happened before the curtain went up - there were some young girls sitting a few rows behind me that were listening on a cell phone (I think it was a football game), and when their team scored, they gave a LOUD cheer!! Even though the show hadn't started yet, it was still annoying (to me). :) They turned it off just a second before the orchestra started up. Oh well. Another annoying thing is cameras! There was a mother and son sitting a couple seats away from me, and sonny was snapping pics like mad, even after the announcement "no cell phones, etc". The usher told him to stop, and left. Sonny takes the camera out again, and takes more pics. The usher goes back to him and gives him a really dirty look. Mom just slinks down in her seat. Way to go mom for NOT teaching your son theater etiquette.

I remember this subject came up a couple of years ago. (Actually, it comes up a lot). At any rate, I mentioned that there were rooms called 'shielded enclosures' that are built to prevent signals from passing through the walls. Wireless phones would not work in one of these places. It turned out that the subject of making all theatres shielded had come up and was knocked down by the fire department. They said that having the building constructed that way would prevent the fire department from using their communication devices in emergency situations.

I can understand this - so the answer is a shield that can be turned on and off. Any budding designers/engineers/inventors out there?

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"The Fire Drepartment and the Police are always trying to stop the public from doing things like blocking cell phones and they usually lose in court, grumble about it and adapt"

They didn't lose this one. I remember it being a featured story in the Times.

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