Travelnut

I am annoyed by most cell-phone 'ring' tones or songs. Multiply that x #passengers in an enclosed space.

scatcat

I think the heaviest cell phone use is on the Italian trains. I don't mind the talking so much, it's that D--M ringing and stupid music.

beaupeep

I have a cell phone. The battery is usually dead because I use it so infrequently that I forget to even look at it. What in the world do all these people have to talk about to each other? And has anyone noticed that barely anyone reads now? I use traveling to catch up on good books, not conversations. Especially the classic mentioned above...I am now on the bus. Who cares?

SuzieCII

LOL, Flanner, how wry!

For everyone's explanations of the reasoning above... I rejoice still!

We've joked that sometimes people are not even TALKING to another human being, just want to look as if they are.

wanderful

When I was coerced into commuting on the Long Island Rail Road some years back, I found that the length and volume of a typical cell-phone call by a nearby offender was in direct proportion to the triviality of the discussion. The longer and louder it was, the more inane the topic.

wombat7

Suzie - I remember when car phones were first available. One company sold a "telephony" – you got an aerial to stick on the back of the car and a hand-set which was attached to a cord. Completely non-functioning but you could look the part. I thought it was a wonderful idea.the

fnarf999

There used to be a popular urban legend about the fellow on the subway platform in [insert your city here], yakking away about stocks and bonds on his brick-sized early cell phone, when someone on the platform fell over with a heart attack, and when the other travelers ran up to the fellow to call 9-1-1, whereupon he was forced to admit that his phone was a phony. You don't hear that one much anymore.

kaneda

Cell phones were made to make the rest of us feel good. When you hear what dull lives these incredibly boring people lead, you can't help but feel good. What they need is a ringtone which says : "Get a life!"

dorkforcemom

Great post! I confess I'm stumped on Ira's "D****D"...I love word games!

letour

Did anyone hear the recent piece recently on NPR that some group is trying to legislate (if that's the proper word--can't remember all the details, as I heard the piece in passing) that cell phone rings in NYC be limited to only 4 possible ring types? Apparently the idea is being promoted in order to outlaw the range of cell phones that are contributing to general "noise pollution."

tomboy

Flanner: Moderate, low volume, short length ("we've arrived, see you in 20 minutes&quot conversations at a cafe, or in mid-flight during daylight, I could abide despite being a Luddite.

Loud, long, inane conversations I cannot.

Your comment totally overlooks the fact that some flights take place at a time when people are sleeping, or at least attempting to rest and relax.

I don't suppose in the UK you have the equivalent of hog-calling contests, but I'm sure our neighbor is a past champion. Her back porch, where she frequently holds forth on her cell phone, is perhaps 120' from our patio, and when we're out there, we can hear every word spoken. Now, imagine that, times 150, at 1:00AM chronological (body) time, 32,000 feet above the Atlantic where the other 200 people are trying to relax and/or sleep. Now, if you don't find this thought frightening, I'd be willing to mail your neighbor a recording of her to play under your window at 2:30 AM, in hopes you might reconsider.

StCirq

I'm assuming D****D = damned.

And I'm somewhere in the middle on this issue. I get annoyed by unpleasant and lenghty and loud ring tones and I don't like to hear loud mundane conversations, but I'm also tethered to my business no matter where in the world I am, and if some economist at the World Bank needs to reach me about when his book's going to be published, he's expecting to find me whether I'm at my desk in the USA or riding a camel on the Chott al Jerid. And no, I'm not saying that's necessarily a good thing, but it's the way it is, and the way it's going to have to be if I want the luxury of traveling as much as I do.

Yes, people on cell phones should be more considerate. I always try to get as far away from people as possible and keep my voice as low as it needs to be to be heard. And truthfully I could probably make it through an overseas plane ride without needing to talk on the cell, but that's because I can do email from my pocket PC.

Carta_Pisana

LYB -
The difference is that when two people are sitting at a table, one can hear both sides of the conversation. You only hear one side of the conversation when someone is on a cell phone. (and don't get me started about those loud walkie-talkie-beeping cell phone users)

as for ipod users (and I have nano pod which I only use at the gym on the stair master) - they walk along n their own little world oblivious to their surroundings - it can be at times really rude, especially on a crowded sidewalk.

Pugsly

If I had to listen to someone yacking on a cell phone on a plane, I think I would have to stick a fork in my eye or theirs. People just don't whisper on cell phones. IMO immediate response is not needed and it's just a matter of managing the expectations of people trying to reach you. You don't really need to pick up the phone every time it rings no matter where you are...it's like the people addicted to their crackberries.

nwtraveler

Letour - That was NPR's annual April Fool's story.

sandi

Ok, you want cellphones on planes? Then along meal selections, those who are insistent of cellpone use, should be relegated to "last class" only seating.

That should shut them up pretty fast.

Doesn't anyone read a book, do a crossword, knit, or like "quiet time" anymore? Take your drugs and go to sleep! Ain't no where to run when flying!

Yesssss, Good decision!

Curt

StCirq no one wants to take away your cell phone. We only want to prevent some client calling you when you are on the airplane. Once off the plane take all the calls you want. I use my cell all the time as well, but I do NOT want to use it on an airplane .

Poohgirl

As the great philosopher Jerry Seinfeld once said: "You need to give people a chance to miss you."

hopscotch

It's the LOUD factor. Some people shout so loud that they don't need a phone for someone in the next country to hear them.

I believe that one person's rights stop when it interfers with the rights of another. I have a right to a peaceful flight.

There is also the security issue. Cell phones have been used to set off bombs. Scenerio: terrorist hides his cell phone bomb on a plane and gets off. Plane takes off for the next stop. Terrorist calls his cell phone bomb. Boom. Hundreds dead. Families destroyed. Tens of millions lost. No clue as to what caused it. Investigations. Law suits. Years of reconstructing the debris.

The inanity of most cell phone conversations I have overheard is another issue. I really don't care what they talk about. I just don't want to have to hear it.

cls2paris

I also agree with no cell phone use on a plane. I hadn't thought of the security issues associated with cell phones (bombs) but I have thought about the noise from talking. We have so little personal space - physical plus sensory - as it is on a plane, and adding to the noise by allowing cell phone use further encroaches on our space.

I think the phone booth idea is pretty good. Or remember in the "old days" and there was a smoking section on the plane? I remember that the last few rows on the plane were designated for smokers - well, put the people who desire to talk on their phones during the flight in a designated area. This would help contain the noise a bit - but I sure wouldn't want to be in the row or two in front of that section!