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Just make this annoying thing go away.
I know it’s happened to you. I know you’ve already succumbed to it.
But I, the voice of reason, am here to tell you to stop. You need to hear it, and nobody else has the balls to tell you, so I guess it has to be me.
Would you do it if you were talking to the President? Would you do it while talking to your boss? I’m going to guess the answer is no.
By checking your damn iPhone while talking to me, you’re saying “You’re not as important as this message I’m receiving.”
The impression you’re leaving people with is “You’re not worth my time.”
If you already have a modicum of sense in you, you know this. But you do it anyway. Sounds a lot like gambling, smoking, or compulsive eating, doesn’t it?
Well you’ve learned to put down the fork. Now learn to put down the fucking iPhone.
Thank you.
†
September 8th, 2009 at 9:32 am
What you forget is that the iPhone releases a tasty morsel of seratonin when you check it…
September 8th, 2009 at 9:53 am
I went on a date a few months ago with a woman who couldn’t stop talking on her fucking blackberry. Now I know I twitter way too much but this was super annoying.
September 8th, 2009 at 10:33 am
No chance they are activating the voice memo app because what you are saying is so scintillating they want to record it?
Apposite to that, I take notes on my iPhone at meetings. That way I don’t lunk around a laptop. Somehow scratching on a notepad with a pen is still privileged but syncing and sharing my notes in real-time on a device is considered gouache.
September 8th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Um, maybe it would be gouache if I were painting with my left-hand. Grr, gauche spellchecker something something.
September 8th, 2009 at 11:26 am
It is super crazy-the way phones can give people a sense of importance. There are people who literally flip, tap or mess with their phone every time you see them. I understand it is a status thing(primarily if you have the latest device) and you have to let everyone see-but come’on lets have some face time.
September 8th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Perhaps I am insensitive, but if I get a txt I glance at it quickly to see what it is. I don’t read it.
If I am going to read it, I will say “I’m still listening to you”.
I also tend to repeat what the person just said while I was looking at my phone. So they know I was listening to them. I don’t see it as a disrespectful action… That’s just my opinion though.
September 8th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I feel the same way about Bluetooth headsets. It says “I am ready to allow anyone interrupt what I am doing right now.” I see dads all the time wearing Bluetooth headsets while hanging with their families. It seems just as ignorant as smoking while their kids are in the car.
September 8th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Who gives a shit? Either ask them to stop or get over it. Bitching won’t get you anywhere.
Maybe you just aren’t that interesting.
September 8th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
It all comes down to respect… Something that people have been believing that they don’t need anymore in the digital age.
September 8th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Just as the world is divided into Mac people and PC people, so too is it divided into iPhone people and Blackberry people.
In corporate environments it’s almost 100% Blackberry. However, the same problem exists. You can’t have a conversation with someone without them looking at their Blackberry every 30 seconds. Worse still is that you can see them scrolling and reading messages in the middle of your conversation. GET OVER IT! Can’t those emails wait two minutes? DAMN!
September 8th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
I know. It’s like when people do a blog post just to bitch at someone.
September 8th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
People who check their phones while talking to people are at that moment not appreciating being in the moment, that this moment is all that there is. They’re looking for the next thing, because being present is hard for them.
Give them love, for they (as all) need it.
September 8th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
To all smartphone users:
When is the last time you consciously chose not to answer that call / return that message / reply to that text right in the moment?
When’s the last time you shut your phone off?
There’s a desperate fear somewhere in there. More importantly, there’s a total loss of self-control. We’ve all been conditioned to the same pavlovian response – we can’t just NOT be available anymore.
We have made ourselves slaves to other people’s intrusive demands for our time and attention.
Who’s in control – the phone or the user?
September 8th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
What if I’m reading this post on an iPhone? Does that count?
September 8th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
well said my man! stop your friggin’ multitasking and focus on us for a bit will ya? when we’re done, go fer it, except while driving,ok?!!
Mtn. Jim
September 8th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
re: Tyler – there’s no maybe in your case; you’re definitely an un-ironic bore.
double points for this point. most people wouldn’t masturbate in public, yet fiddling with one’s hand over this device for their own auto-gratification is acceptable behavior.
lift a finger and open an ear or eye when you’re out and about. that simple.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:14 am
I’ve had a woman texting some other guy all through a date with her…
What does that say about her? About me?
September 9th, 2009 at 6:11 am
Great post and oh so true. Don’t pretend to have a conversation with me. If it is only 15 seconds, be here in the present – then go play with your phone thingy.
September 9th, 2009 at 7:15 am
If I’m standing within a few feet of someone while they talk, they should hopefully understand that they took some sort of priority over many other people.
All the same… If I get an Oh My God Becky text or email in on my mobile leash, I at least have to take a moment to respond. It’s only fair since I am giving you face time instead of them.
They already know they they weren’t important enough for me to be physically there with them. I don’t want the guilt of potentially missing the crucial text about how their doctor just told them their couch is on fire.
And I apologize if this comment seems a little disheveled. I started typing it and then someone sent me link to youtube of a cat playing piano. U srsly need 2 c it!!! XD
September 10th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
I went on a date a few months ago with a woman who couldn't stop talking on her fucking blackberry. Now I know I twitter way too much but this was super annoying….
September 11th, 2009 at 10:05 am
If a client or friend checks their iPhone (or BlackBerry, or takes a call, or whatever) when I’m with them, I simply do the same. I make sure I’m still occupied when they finish, and I make them wait.
Funny how it makes them realize just how annoying it is.
In “Stranger In A Strange Land,” one character describes another character kissing as, “with his whole being.” I’ve always extrapolated that to having a goal of doing one thing with all of your concentration if you think it’s worthwhile.
And if it’s not worthwhile, don’t do it at all.
September 12th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
You have got to be kidding me…
You don’t like people checking their phone while they speak to you?? maybe you should move back to 1989.
Get over it goof… its just not that big a deal.
dingbat.
(by the way, i would do it while i spoke to the president… but you are not the president you are a whiney nobody who has fallen behind the times.)
September 12th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
So is checking in on your crackberry. I’ve trained myself to put my phone on silent. And if I’m every meeting someone for coffee, I certainly don’t check my phone (I’m there, in the conversation).
The other day though I knew I was waiting on an important email and phone call to come through so I very politely asked my guest if it was ok that I place my phone on the table and if I might excuse myself for a quick minute or two for a message I was awaiting. They didn’t mind at all but rather appreciated that I took the time to ask.
It’s not that difficult to do something as simple as that (in my opinion)…
September 24th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
But what if my iPhone IS more important than you?
Ever think about that?