Dear YWN,
I ask you to please post this letter, because I think the situation I’m writing abaout is far from pathetic, and something really has to be done about it.
Take a walk down the street, go into any shul, school, supermarket, wedding hall etc. and count how many people are focusing on the action they are ‘supposed’ to be doing; and then count how many people are focusing on their CELL PHONES.
How low did we fall that we have a chutzpah to bring a cell phone into a shul? I’ve heard and seen men picking up their phones in middle of saying Shema Yisroel! Sure there are men who turn the phone off before walking into shul, but unfortunately there are not that many.
I was recently at the KOSEL where we can literally feel the Kedusha of Hashem, and when I saw someone actually pick up their phone in middle of crying to the Ribone Shel Olam, I realized that our generation is really mixed up!
Just the other night, I was at a chupah, standing in the back and I looked around the room. I am embarrassed to say how many people were actually answering amen and davening, and how many people were texting and emailing on their Treo and Blackberries!
I can give so many more examples of how far we turned into slaves to our cell phones.
Please note, that I am not calling this a crisis, but rather an addiction. In a crisis there is not much to do about it, but in an addiction there are things we can do to correct the addiction.
Here are a few ideas:
*At the supper table leave your phone in the car.
*At a chuppah at least shut off the ringer.
*When you go into shul turn off you phone.
*When you go to PTA to hear the nachas of your children, turn the phone off.
Another issue with this is that not only the adults have the cell phones, but also kids starting from third grade and up are addicted to this sickness! The problem is, how can you tell your teenage daughter to slow down with her phone, if she sees her parents constantly on it?!
And for those who think there is no addiction to cell phones in this generation, please do yourself a favor and open up your eyes!
Signed,
Disgusted by cell phones.
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55 Responses
How about at levaya! In the middle of a hesped for a young woman who died tragically and we were all crying while a Rov was giving a hesped, suddenly a phone rang and the guy answered it! and then POOF! the whole atmosphere was broken.
I agree fully! We have become slaves to our gadgets. Let’s take this message and put some perspective back into our lives.
The calls will wait!
Yeshar Koach for the article.
Dear Disgusted
One way to change it is to do something about it:
– Walk away from a meeting/discussion if the other side picks up the phone.
– Stop abruptly the Chazoras Hashatz when a phone rings
– Stop picking up hitchhikers who are on the phone
I’ve done or seen all of the above being done; we can make a difference if we want to.
Hatzlocho
– Danny, who doesn’t walk around with a phone/leash, and who is not scared to sign his name.
The problem in shuls is not the cellphone issue, it is far worse. People do not realize that they are standing in front of Hashem. Do you think that
if they get rid of cell phones another Yezer Hora won’t come up?!
They don’t call it CELL phone for nothing – every person with a cell phone is in JAIL – they are always looking at the phone to see what’s coming in ! I agree with the author – there is something seriously wrong with it and our generation is losing its ability to focus and relate with it.
I agree wholeheartedly. One of the rabbonim here has actually said that it is not tznius for a woman (but it can go for men and children too) to go around in public with a cell phone glued to their ear. I am amazed that people answer their phones during davening. Unbelievable!
My cell phone gets calls and texts and thats it! I have a large business bh but no emails / internet on my phone it will never leave you alone.
Very good article and entirely correct.
Children should never be given mobile phones.
I was once Davening in a Shul and the Chazzon’s cell phone started playing “When the Saints come marching in!” He whipped it out and said, “L’man yizmericha chuvod, I cant talk now, I’m davening for the umid, V’lo yidoim!”
…the main thing is..missing middos. Those who have middos..usually have others feelings in mind will not answer when in middle of conversation with riboni shel oilom or with fellow habrious…i also saw one answer in middle amida, shliach tzibbur middle reciting amida…on the bus like monsey bus,lakewood etc., one forgets he’s in public domain carries on convesation high pitch, talks about private things sometimes not nice or ladies discssing “private” tznious subjects and forget where they are. Once i raised my voice and said “lady, we are not interseted what kind of ….. your daughter bought oy did she,they, beconme quiet
I’d like to share what I’ve done to try and minimize the intrusiveness. I carry both a Blackberry issued to me by my employer for company use, and a personal cell phone.
1) Both are set to vibrate at all times so that if I do get a call, I’m not disturbing anyone and do not have to stop davening (or enjoying a simcha) to fumble around for the “ignore” button. (Of course this is not so simple for those who keep phones in pocketbooks)
2)I was mekabel b”n never to pull out the cell phone or check the BB while in koslei beis hamedrash. B”H that’s been holding well.
3) When in the supermarket checkout and the cashier is ready to start with my order, I tell the caller I will call them back when I am done. Several clerks have told me it makes them feel human to be acknowledged.
In my shul, the gabbai now always announces before mincha AND maariv that people should shut off their cell phones. The Rav has also shot dirty looks to people whos phones go off 2 or more times during shmonei esrei
On the funny side, I know someone who recorded his ringtone as “Ashrei yoshvei veisecha” so that if it goes off in shul, people just think someone walked in late 🙂
100% agree -but lets for 4get about the chutzpa aspect of it 4 now –just the fact that there is no privacy anymore i try not to talk in stores unless i have to bec the entire world is listening, i cant tell you haw much personal info i know these days just by standing on line in the supermarket people r on the phone and forget that there are other people around who are lisening to this deep dark secret they are about to tell their friend
i have been on dates where in the middle they pick up their phone and call voicmail-no not going to the bathroom right in front of you while in the middle of a conversation!
oh and 1 more thing—-i hate bluetooths -i think they are rude and Obnoxious, you never know who the person is talking to! i hate them
#5- I agree its not tziyus for a woman to yap on the phone in public.
Well written article with a great point! Hopefully it will be mechazek people.
So true!
When one is davening, he is (so to speak) on the phone with Hashem. If he answers his phone while talking to Hashem, he is basically putting Hashem on hold to answer a click and talk to a mortal instead of to Hashem!
Think about it! It’s terrible!
I too, used to answer my phone and read texts during davening, but Boruch Hashem I have seen the light, and I ignore my phone during Tefillah now. Believe me, whoever it is on the other end can wait! He/she is definitely not more important than Hashem!
P.S. If you can’t leave your phone out of shul, at least PLEASE put it on vibrate!
#4 – I like your play on words – cell -jail.
very clever
Truth be told a common sense balance must be used by everyone. Many people feel compelled to answer the call each and every time it rings. They never even think of ‘hey I’m busy right now I’ll call ‘em back later’. I’ve seen people trying to make a u-turns in a school zone with double parked cars blocking their view and other involved situations that require full attention yet it didn’t even occur to them to think of perhaps hanging up the cell phone! Let’s all practice every now and then to 1) not look at who’s calling 2) Not answer every call even for no other reason than to get use to it!.
Also please show any older people who do have cell phone how to put it on vibrate and who to silence a ringing phone! How many times to we hear an elderly person’s phone ring during davening and they have know clue how to silence it so they let it ring until the voice mail answers.
On the other hand I know so many people who actually gain so much learning and other mitzva activities by answering their phone at shul or the Bais medrash! People who steal a few minutes from work or busy schedules only because they will anyway be in touch because of their cell phones. If they couldn’t answer it they would be able to come learn, help the school etc.
The decision must be made before the phone rings, before that volunteer work or before the learning etc. There are times when we must decide not to answer no matter what! And then don’t even look at who is calling, times to answer from specific callers and at time to sit near a door with the phone on vibrate to be available to answer any call. Of course people must know their own needs and also the way that their decision will effect others around them as well.
#12 The real problem with Bluetooths is not that I don’t know who someone is talking to (I don’t care) it’s that you don’t even know IF the person is talking to someone.
It used to be that if you saw someone walking down the street talking to nobody in particular while gesturing animatedly, you would cross the street and give them a wide berth.
Now nobody thinks twice. The truth is bluetooths (blueteeth?) are the best thing to ever happen to schizophrenics.
i agree 100% with your letter…
i used to work in a clothing saw and some customers were so busy on thier cell that they did their entire hopping and paid without even acknowleging the sales person helping them they simply handed their credit card signed and left!!!
i also think its a big sakona when driving aspecialy with children a person can not have full concentration on the road while having a conversation…. unfortunately this is how many accidents happen..
however a couple of people commented on at chupas or levayes people are on heir cells i myself if i cant make it to close freind/family members chupa i would love to take part and listen on my husbands cell or v.versa. (My sister got married abroad and my husband unfortunately couldnt make it so i called him so he could participate in the chupa and feel somewhat part of the simcha!!)
I agree with your letter 100%…
I used to work in a clothing saw and some customers were so busy on thier cell that they did their entire shopping and paid without even acknowleging the sales person helping them they simply handed their credit card signed and left!!!
I also think its a big sakona when driving (aspecialy with children) a person can not have full concentration on the road while having a conversation on the phone. Unfortunately this is how many accidents happen.
However a couple of people commented on at chupas or levayes people are on their cells if its for the right reason (ie. not shmoozing with a freind but rather letoyeles) eg. I myself if I cant make it to close freind/family members chupa I would love to take part and listen on my husbands cell or v.versa. (My sister got married abroad and my husband unfortunately couldnt make it so I called him so he could participate in the chupa and feel somewhat part of the simcha!!)
I like the referance to a cellphone being a leash, its 100% true. We are pets on leashes to a our cellphones. When it says “sit” we sit. When it says “pick up” we pick up. The only thing it doesnt do is give us a bone when we listen to it, kinda mean huh?
While in principle I agree with all the above, we should remember that there many good reasons for a cell phone. The yid at the kosel – maybe he was letting someone else who can’t come to Yerushalayim, daven at the holy makom. At a chasuna, maybe a cell phone allows a family member who is sick and at a hospital to listen in to the simcha. The young woman who is in a scary situation and needs to call for help, certainly needs a cell phone. וכו וכו’
So I think that a cell phone is really a מתנה מן השמים that just needs to be utilized properly – just like everything else in the world.
Just to be dan lechaf zchus- once during davening i took out my cell phone and was looking through it- Do you know what i was doing? i was looking to say all the tehillim names that i got in texts that week. bh i was home and no one was looking. but if i wouldve been some one in shul people would have look down … so next time you see someone looking at his cell phone during davening…
Not tznius for a woman to Yak on the phone.
Its not derech eretz for anyone male or female to yak on the phone in a public enclosed space. No one has to listen to anyones loud telephone conversation be it man or woman. No one has to be put in danger from a male or female driving and not paying attention to where they are going.
Talk about the ringtones. I heard a frum mans ringtone that was some goyish holiday music. Some ring tones are totally goyish music and people do not even know.
At home if someone is giving a baby a bath and the phone rings they ignore it. How come a cell phone can never be ignored.
How did anyone stay in contact before cell phones?
Great letter-it focuses on a big problem. I would add the following: I have seen couples walking down the street, each of them talking on their own cellphone. When you walk with your spouse, can’t you have the midos to talk to him/her instead of someone else? Can’t this lead to a serious shalom bayis issue (if there is not one already)?
Your suggestion about leaving the cellphone in the car when you get home is good-as long as the phone is not used in a way that is both illegal and dangerous:while driving!
I can tell you this much: I check out potential shidduchim by finding out if the candidate walks down the street yapping into a cell phone that is stuck to their ear permanently. It shows a lack of tzenius-broadcasting to everyone what is going on in your life-and if the Tanna or Amora that said one who eats in the street is compared to a dog would be alive today, he would probably say “and so is someone who talks in the street on a cellphone”.
The craziest part is that some people don’t realize when they are on the phone that everyone around them is hearing their conversation and is privy to it. Even if they are speaking a different language, not English, they don’t realize how many people are overhearing and digesting what they are saying. Just this Sunday, I was in the doctor’s waiting room and someone there did not think that anyone else in the room understood what he was saying but not only did I understand his conversation, which was very revealing, but I also knew most of the people that he mentioned in the scandal. I was wondering whether ornot I should let their mother’s know. But seriously, besides the idea of respect, the idea of privacy, including the names of all the people he mentioned are totally disreguarded over here.
On a side note, my brother-in-law was telling me how the Baal Koreh in a shul he was davening in, in the middle of leining, his cell phone went on to the most interesting tune. Totally not appropriate.
besides cell phone chatter at Chupas, what about the other RUDE people who sit and talk with each other the entire time. At one Chupa I attended, I actually heard an adult ask a kid if he gets into fistfights in school…
Can’t people sit quietly for 20 minutes? when you ask them to stop talking, they act like you are the person violating rules of decorum.
I have a suggestion: walk outside and talk all you want – don’t disturb the Chupa and others around you for your meaningless drivel.
on the issue of cell phones in shul, in all honesty if cell phones were to be banned from Shul then so too should very small children. Let’s analyze:
– cell phone rings – the owner turns off his cell phone in embarrasment, there is a momentary disturbance in shul and decorum is restored, at the same time other’s who were disturbed will likely check their own phones and make sure they are turned off.
small child starts babbling in shul – father does one of the following
– shushes the child, which usually is effective for less than 2 minutes
– gives the child something – a tchotche or food this is usually effective for less than 2 minutes
– takes the child out until he quiets down at which point the child is returned to shul where he remains quiet for maybe 2 minutes
Of course if this is during the amida and the child is any distance from the father there is no way to quiet him and, rather than disturb his own davening, usually the father will simply allow the child to continue to disturb everyone else. After all he reasons I have to be mechanech my child, so what if he disturbs.
In all these instances the disturbance is likely to continue and to reprise over and over again.
Rarely does the father remove himself and the child from the shul out of respect for other’s kavanah.
If you analyze each source of disturbance OBJECTIVELY the cell phone is much less of an issue than a child who is too young to understand what proper shul decorum is.
Another place which is completely inappropriate to use a cellphone is the mikve and yet people are talking there too. Unfortunately, people are not concentrating on the mitzvos they are performing.
I do not think it is fair to Klal Yisrael to say “Sure there are men who turn the phone off before walking into shul, but unfortunately there are not that many”. Let us not forget that it is a very powerful tendency to notice the wrong and not the right. Please, next time you notice someone’s cell phone ring during davening, take note of how many people’s cell phones did NOT ring. There is no reason to assume, “oh, that’s only b/c they didn’t happen to receive a call right now,” give Klal Yisrael the benefit of the doubt and assume that it is indeed b/c they all concientously turned them off before davening.
All this being said, the problem is still very real and indeed as a tzibbur we must be mechazeik ourselves in the inyan. I especially liked # 2’s idea about stopping chazaras ha’shatz when a cell phone rings, and i would like to add the following: the Rav of every Schul should announce at the pulpit that the ENTIRE tzibbur should sternly shush one whose cell phone rings during any point of the davening (i.e. go’arin bo), i think the thought of having to suffer such horrible embarrasment will serve as a powerful mechazeik in the inyan to prevent it.
another thing that most people do not realize is that cell phone technology does not work the same way as a land-line telephone. In a traditional land-line telephone, you hear yourself throught the receiver whereas in a cell phone you do not. This causes a person to speak louder with a cell phone.
We all need to make an effort to remember this and to speak at an appropriate volume while on a cell phone.
to #28…children are usually not with father on stam weekday morning or mincha mariv , so are you refering to shabbas ?
I think we all have to be pro-active.
I was once on the LIRR when an attorney was speaking to his client in a loud voice. I told him that nothing that he was saying to his client was priviledged as everyone in the area could hear him. That shut him up quick.
Another time it was a stockbroker wearing a yarmulka who was speaking so load on the LIRR that people were jokingly placing orders for stock. That did not stop him. I told him that the least he could do was to take off his yarmulka as he was making a chillul Hashem. That shut him up.
Why is it not tznius for a woman to talk on their cellphone in public? I mean, it can be annoying but tznius…?
For years I have been explaining to parents the negative effects and almost foolishness of giving students cell phones. Yet parents keep buying them! Our Yeshiva has a no-cell phone rule and when I find one and confiscate it I don’t blame the student as much as I do the parent for providing the student with one.
food for thought: we all know how to live for a day without cellphones- we do it once a week! if we can manage for the entire shabbos (and through 3-day yontif!) surely we can manage at shul, chuppas, levayas etc. cell phones are not all evil, certainly they are good if a person needs to call for help, or if a man’s wife is in labor and needs to tell him to come to the hospital; they are also very good for meeting up with people, mix-ups can be easily avoided. but just as we would never think of leaving them on over shabbos, we should not think to leave them on in shul. even if they are vibrate, there is still a temptation to break your kavannah and check who’s calling. also, although we must be dan lechaf zechus and try to think of good reasons someone mught be on the phone at a bad time, we also have to obligation of nekius, not giving others a reason to suspect us of wrongdoing.
I pity those that come into shul with the bluetooth still attached to their ear.
Not only are they a slave to their cell phone, but with the bluetooth ‘pierced’ to their ear they are an ‘eved nirtzah’
Another Major Point!!
And for those of you who are not sensitive to the rudeness and not Tznius aspect of being addicted to your phone- Study shows that to much phone usage can be linked to brain tumors because of the radiation.
So, even if you are the selfish type- look out for yourself.
to the Pashute Yid on number 32:
while your intentions of not embarassing are in order, I dont agree with you!
In a libary, l’havdil, do you think that anyone would stare at the librarian who shushes someone who is having a audible conversation?
The person in the wrong is the person talking who obviously doesnt care about Hashems Kovod so why should we care about his. In addition, the Pm”g writes in siman kc”d ( kuf chof daled – orach chaim in the name of the vovei hoamudim( a very authentic sefer) that we should embarass someone who talks during chazoras hashatz, it is a very severe sin! )
to #36..b’mokom shyesh chillil hashem ein cholkim kovod…” now if he is not makpud on kvod shmaim(b’farhesye)…..thats b’noigayah in shul, now when one talks to friend and answers cell leaving friend choisik and friend walks away why is that embarrasing and what about this rude fellow embarrasing friend..you say “let gabby…” you think gabbay is available all time all minyonim..take shule like rabbi leifer on ave L & east 9 (?) or shomer shabbos, 13 ave & 53, have minyonim 24/7 (almost)….signs?? one comes in rush to minyon he doesnt start reading tens of signs posted each shul…
# 32
any time, even when a cell phone can’t be in shul (it’s not a zero sum proposition)
what difference do you see between weekday and shabbos with respect to disturbances during davening?
lesschumras/#40,
Why are you embarrassed to explain to a gentile (and especially to a non-practicing Jew) why Torah Jews have seperate seating?
You should be proud to explain that Jews adhere to modesty regulations (and are not animalistic.) The vast majority of them will not only understand, but will respect Jews for it.
what about the ppl that forget that they were in the middle of a conversation in person with someone else? how do u think that ‘someone else’ feels when he is completely forgotten about because the cell phone rang and it was “very important”?
i completely agree. although i am somewhat a victim of this addiction, it drives me absolutely crazy when people are a slave to their cell phones. there are some kids who just sit through every single class texting the whole time. i once went out to eat with my friend and she was probably on her phone 85% of the time. it’s really annoying how without saying anything to you your friends are showing you that someone is much more important than you who deserve their full attention
agreed! (and I ‘might’ be one of them although i dont answer the phone in middle of davening etc. i also try to make sure my ringer is on vibrate ALL THE TIME. I go nuts in shul when ringers go off.
#30 thats an excellent point. i love being m’vayesh people b’rabim and this is an great time to do it. i wish i could do it more but at least regarding cell phones i’ll be able to have fun l’shaim shomayim
good morning,
I am the one who posted this article on YW.
Thank you all for understanding there is a major problem here.
Just to clear some misunderstandings, and to add a couple of things:
*regarding cell phones and chuppas-picking up the phone in middle of a chuppah and texting is a huge lack of derech eretz, if you think about it, you came to the chasunah either for the chosson, kallah, or family friends, and your showing your friend in a way ‘that yes, I came but sorry, your not worth my full attention’.
*and the yid by the kosel was a woman who actually was just chatting to a friend of hers.
(btw- i don’t know if anyone remembers, there was an add in a local frum newspaper last year, of cell phones in front of the KOSEL, stating something like ‘can Hashem hear you?’ that is really sad!)
*being dan lekaf zechus someone looking up something on their phone in middle of davening is true. but to pick up the phone?? please, im sure the person on the other line can wait!
*and for those who ask what tzniyus has got to do with cell phones. Tzniyus also means PRIVACY.
*Just a side note. two nights ago i was in a resteraunt and there was a couple sitting in front of me. the husband was literelly ignoring his wife! he was focusing on his pathetic gadget! i felt like wripping it out of his hand! men and women please give attention to your spouse, it makes them feel so unwanted and like a burden!
to..#51 what about mevaesh hatzibur…not to mention the heilige b’shefer..comes to “talk” to the eibishter then mafsik in middle and carries on conversation with boser v’dom just like that
I was in a hospital where the doctor who went to see a patient answered his cell phone 15 seconds after his patient began discussing his problems and then completely forgot about the patient.This doctor does it all the time.How about when you are in a public restroom and the person in the next stall is having a very intimate conversation.It is just left to the imagination what thr other end of the conversation is.People who are rude by using their cell phones are also just as rude in other aspects of their lives.Talking loud to someone when you are in the middle of the two conversants,like on a bus,is just as annoying.(Sometimes it can be very revealing) However,when they are speaking in a foreign language ,it is even more rude when done in front of those who do not understand them.
To # 34 -It is a lack of tzniyus to call attention to oneself in public. This includes not wearing clothing, wearing bright colored clothing, running, and yelling. Does talking on a cellphone in public call attention to a woman. Well that is the question, isn’t it? Are you so astounded that someone can have a svuruh that talking on the phone calls more attention to a woman than merely walking in public? And if you will say that walking in public is not a lack of tzniyus, there is to say that sarah imeinu and esther certainly thought so. (the midrashim clearly say so) and if you will say that we are not on a madreiga to act with such tzniyus, there is to say with righteous indignation: Keep it to yourself if you don’t want to be “so much” of a tznuah. Don’t impose your krumkeit on others.
Like everything else in the world, things can be used or abused.
While the use of cell phones as described above is certainly not a crisis, in of itself, it certainly reflects something that has truly reached crisis proportions (as the word crisis is defined by Merriam Webster). There is an aspect of kavod habrios towards other people that is sorely lacking among a lot of people. To talk on the phone while engaged with another human being and disregarding them as if they were nothing more than another chair in the room is a trmendous low in kavod habrios. It is only that much worse when done to hashem!
There is an amazing dichotomy that many people exhibit. On the one hand, they are the first to volunteer for any one of 500 different tzedakos and chesed organizations, while at the same time, will answer a phone while engaged with another person, or double park their card while inconveniencing 50 other people. On the one hand a profound sense of achdus is exhibited, while at the same time, totally ignoring the worth of another human being is being shown.
The discussion can take on many side issues such as tznius, health concerns and safety, but at the end of the day, the way one uses a cell phone in public is a statement by that person how they perceive themself among everyone else as well as how they perceive everyone else.
We are all Guilty!!! – It’s just so much easier to see a breach of kovod habriyos or derech eretz when SOMEBODY ELSE is DOING IT – When “I” do something, then, of course, it’s understandable!
So let’s all try to see how our actions will look at the ‘ultimate’ playback, and work on improving ourselves. Meanwhile, it’s just embarrassing to see a line of people with cellphones outside a chasunah hall – the simchah is not captivating enough! and the sheer horror of a phone ringing during a hesped, a shiur, or kedushah – these are really terribly impolite actions, to say the least, and anyone with brains should avoid anything close to it!
Picture this… PTA, parents coming in to meet with me and while I am in middle of discussing crucial situations involving their dear children… ringer goes off, Mommy says sorry one minute, she picks up the phone and begins yappin. I wait patiently and after a min or two I tell her that other parents are waiting outside. She motions 1 minute. Next parent while in mid of me again speakin about the student takes out her phone and makes a phone call! Dan l;kaf zchus- it must have been really important. But guess what I can see which one of my students belong to which set of parens… The chutzpanyaks are the kids of the chutzpadik parents!
IF YOUR CHILD SEES YOU HAVE NO RESPECT FOR OTHERS HE WILL DEFINITELY COPY YOU!!!!
I am makpid that unless it is important I dont pick up my phone while I am spending quality time with others.
This dor is getting so messed up I found students in the bathroom during classtime having a party on their phones.
besides the texting that goes on … especially btsn guys and girls that would “never” be seen talking to eachother.
pashute yid
i admit i got a phone. but b”h i wont call myself a slave to it! and anyways if a boy wont marry me because i dont got one. he aint for me!
and hearing trouble your kids did by PTA is also nachas. nachas that they learnt atleast something from their parents!
have a good shabbos
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I was in a hospital where the doctor who went to see a patient answered his cell phone 15 seconds after his patient began discussing his problems and then completely forgot about the patient.This doctor does it all the time.How about when you are in a public restroom and the person in the next stall is having a very intimate conversation.It is just left to the imagination what thr other end of the conversation is.People who are rude by using their cell phones are also just as rude in other aspects of their lives.Talking loud to someone when you are in the middle of the two conversants,like on a bus,is just as annoying.(Sometimes it can be very revealing) However,when they are speaking in a foreign language ,it is even more rude when done in front of those who do not understand them
I fully agree that some people are addicted to their phones. I don’t think that cell phones are bad. They can be very helpfull. I think that this generation is using the cell phones as a fun toy rather than as something used to help you. I think the blue tooths are rediculous because it makes you look like you are talking to yourself and people are less concious about answering their calls with the blue tooth. People answer their calls in shul without a second thought when they have a blue tooth. I also think texting got way out of hand and is a major addiction to teanagers and even some adults. I hope people will learn to use their cell phones properly.