There was a time you could go to the cinema and enjoy a film knowing everyone’s mobile phone was switched off. That is not 
the case any more. When my family and I this week went to see my husband’s starring role in The Other Boleyn Girl, somebody’s phone rang and the woman in front spent the whole time texting.
Now, disappointingly, I learn that one of the last public phone-free zones could be set to ring in the tones as the use of mobile phones is to be allowed on aircraft, though not during take off and landing.
I always thought we had the present ban was because of air safety regulations and to prevent interference with the plane’s electronic controls. But now Ofcom has given the all-clear for British aircraft to install systems that will allow passengers to use their phones during flights.
I think passengers greatly value the peace and quiet they have on planes. I can’t imagine anything more intrusive than sitting next to a passenger who is constantly fiddling about with his phone, or having to listen to his boring conversation, particularly during a long flight when you are desperate for some rest.
I hope that seats will be set aside for mobile phone passengers so they can sit together and drive each other nuts. At the very least, please give us the option of distancing ourselves from them if we choose.
Could you see him in the movie – I got paid to be an extra – but was unable to see myself in the film at all.
Does he get royalties?
I really don’t understand the British attitude to mobile phones. Why is someone talking on the phone any more annoying than someone talking to his neighbour? I do draw the line at the habit of some Slavic men of taking calls while standing at a urinal though!
As someone who spends much time in the air, I would love to be able to achieve something useful there. Then I could take my leisure in comfort on the ground. Why, to accommodate those with no work pressures, should I end up stuck in my hotel room, working on things I could have done in “dead time” on the plane? Why should I miss out on seeing a new city or meeting a friend in a familiar one? And -if they are now admitting that the “safety reasons” were rubbish (as I have always suspected) who are the other passengers to dictate when and where I call?
I can’t think of any thing worse that all those annoying ring tone going off all the time in such a confined space… & people always seem to shout when they use a mobile phone rather than talking normally!
Tom, my experience of people using mobile phones on trains is that it is a vastly unpleasant experience being forced to listen to other people’s conversations. They nearly always speak in a very loud voice and have something very boring to say. Now if there was some juicy gossip, that might be different…..
You simply can’t walk away from someone who is being loud on his phone in an aircraft. That story about the urinal is disgusting, btw.
I don’t mind people using phones – as a previous writer said it’s just the same as any conversation really, it’s the volume which can be inconsiderate.
I totally agree about their use in cinemas and theatres. Selfish in the extreme but there’s always at least one, you can guarantee it.
I used to have to invigilate mid-term tests for very large classes. Not exactly “exam conditions” but they were expected not to cheat. I used to use my laptop while they were writing and I could detect the interference you get when a text message is being sent nearby. I would stand up and say that I have evidence that text messages were being sent and that if I caught anyone I would send them to the Academic Registrar. I could usually tell who looked sheepish, and it generally shut them up!
Yes, the “Martini syndrome” – the idea that you should be available to your company “any time, any place, anywhere”. If you can’t relax even on trips between business venues then I fear for the health of future generations. I see it in my classes: no business student will switch the phone off for half an hour. But how do their managers expect them to learn a new language if they cannot concentrate? Sory, I’ve gone on a bit!
Forgot to say that yes, we could see Stephen in the film, he wasn’t right in the front of the screen, and we had to know when and where to look for him. It certainly made his day.
There was talk of allowing cell phone use on airplanes in the States but the proposal was shouted down.
Which is a shame.
I take public transportation all the time and I’ve had all sorts of experiences with people talking TOO LOUD about things far too personal for me to listen to (especially early in the morning). Last night, though, there was a Spanish-speaking man with a catchy mariachi tune for a ringtone…
But, Ellee, I see cell phone use on planes as a vital safety feature.
Recall 9/11. Despite FAA regulations, passengers on at least two of the doomed airplanes apparently used their cell phones. Cell phone users on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania got news about the hijacking from loved ones at home and — with the information that they were about to be flown into something anyway — resolved to take action.
I think allowing in-flight cell phone use may be the best — and easiest and cheapest — way to prevent another 9/11. For that, I’ll put up with the occasional LOUD TALKER.
I can’t say I’m looking forward to sitting beside someone calling home to say, “I’m on the plane, love.”
Funny how sometimes you see two people sitting/driving in a car, both on the mobile phone (clearly not talking to each other).
But I agree with you, as far as airlines are concerned – though clearly one of the downsides of travelling on public transport: plane, train or coach is that you might get someone sitting next to you who wants to start a conversation when you just want to rest your eyes (and mind) – or viceversa – who doesn’t want to chat when you feel chatty …
I really can’t imagine anything worse than having to sit for two hours next to someone who clearly loves his own voice, and will spend two hours phoning up people on his mobile, who he hopes have the time to keep him amused with small talk while he travels the skies at 600 MPH.
PS – Heard about the mile high club?
Well the 30,000 foot high club to be precise.
Well I almost fell off my seat when I heard someone talk about the mile wide club. Yep that’s right folks, that’s what people who do it on the back of a coach call it, because they travel a mile (or two) across, while they are at it.
LIVE & LEARN, or DIE.
Q9, I must admit I haven’t heard of the mile wide club.
I’m glad a few people agree with me about enjoying peace and quiet on airlines. There is nowhere to escape if the passenger next to you is incessantly noisy. And I think it is a great excuse to be able to switch off from constant interactive communications. We need to know how to switch off sometimes and relax.