August 26, 2007
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Why on earth do people hold gossipy phone calls when in public?
There I was at Target, sifting and sorting through the birthday cards while looking for one for Dad, when here came a young woman on her cell phone, carrying on with some indignation about another person who had the nerve to call her and ask what she meant by whatever it was she’d said, proceeding to give a blow-by-blow account to whoever she was talking to.
Totally inappropriate it was.
I’m hardly against any and all cell phone calls made in stores, particularly when it’s the plaintive type as I also heard on this visit, where a man was calling his wife to try and ascertain the location of an item he wasn’t able to find. That’s reasonable. Dmitry will call to ask me to pick him up something or other. That’s reasonable, too.
But nattering on about obviously private stuff, especially when it is someone else’s private stuff, well, that’s just tacky.
Comments (2)
Not only is it tacky , it is sinful. Dr. Kistler did a sermon series about taming the tongue, obviously that lady needs it.
I love the things that annoy you, you are funny.
It’s always mystified me how, for thousands of years, people were able to get along without talking to people who weren’t with them for a couple of hours at a time while they were out shopping, but now suddenly you can’t do ANYTHING without nattering away about nothing in particular at the same time.
I realize the same complaint could have been made about telephones. “For thousands of years people didn’t have to talk people who weren’t in the room with them.” But at least making a phone call when you’re not engaged in another completely different activity is like calling on someone in person, or writing a note, only more convenient. Nattering away on a cellphone while shopping because all this useless stuff can’t wait until you’re home by the phone again — and able to give your actual attention to the person you’re talking to — seems silly. It’s also an invasion of privacy — your own privacy, the privacy of the person you’re talking about, and MY privacy because I don’t have a choice about being exposed to all your junk. I really didn’t need to hear the details of someone’s aunt’s hospitalization while in the waiting area at the hairdresser’s a couple of months ago.
I was in a Subway a while back that had a sign up, “Absolutely no cellphone use while in line” or words to that effect. Bravo, I thought. That’s all the other patrons need — somebody taking twice as long to order and/or pay because he’s not paying attention to the transaction, but to the Vitally Important Business he’s conducting on his phone. As my brother sarcastically said about his daughter’s incessant texting, “Condi must be calling for advice on the Middle East situation.”
I only use the cell when I’m out shopping if I suddenly remember something reasonably important I want someone to do while I’m out, or if I have to call home and check on someone’s size for something if I see a bargain. Or if I’m detained or something like that, of course. I can’t see using it just because you can’t shut up on your social life/personal dramas for an hour while you’re at Target.