I saw Guardians of the Galaxy last week and although the movie was great, the people around me were horrible. I had to ask not one but two women to please stop using their smartphones during the film. (One of these women also basically felt up my thigh as she got out of her seat during the credits, but being groped by a stranger is a whole different kind of horrible.) While I’m glad I’ve conquered the social anxiety that would have once prevented me from asking a stranger to knock that shit off, I find myself genuinely clueless as to why this kind of thing happens in the first place.
It’s undeniable that flashing a bright screen around a dark theatre will distract the people around you, and I assume that most people know that doing so is rude and annoying. Yet I can’t remember a time in the last year what I went to a movie theatre and somebody didn’t do that. All of which leaves me asking the question, why? WHY? WHY?!
I can only think of two acceptable reasons for using a smartphone during a movie:
1) If you know you might be having a family emergency. Perhaps someone close to you is gravely ill. Maybe someone is expecting a baby that could be born at any minute. In these cases I can understand why you’d want to quickly check your text messages during a show.
2) If the movie is really, really, really bad. Like 3% rating on RottenTomatoes.com bad. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation bad. So bad that tweeting or texting someone to tell them about the badness of the film is the only way for you to get any enjoyment out of the movie at all.
Other than that, why are some people incapable of putting away their phones? It concerns me, and not in a patronizing, I-feel-so-sorry-for-you kind of way, but in a genuine, you-are-interacting-with-your-phone-like-it’s-an-addictive-substance-and-you-need-help kind of way. Some people can’t seem to spend more than 10 or 15 minutes away from their phones, just like some people have to sneak out for a smoke break every hour or two. It reminds me of a scene from an episode of The Office (which I can’t seem to find on YouTube) where Ryan is asked to hand over his phone to a bartender during a round of trivia the coworkers are about to play. Ryan isn’t able to do it and just backs away, shaking his head, unable to be parted from his phone.
I understand how attached we can become to our phones. There have been two times when I thought I’d lost mine and the freak out that ensued made me realize I may as well start calling it “my precious” in a Gollum-like accent. I like my phone very, very much. I also understand the appeal of using a phone while you’re doing something else. I have been known to play Candy Crush Saga as a rerun of Castle is playing on the TV. Even right now I’m not content just to be typing a blog entry, but also have Star Trek on in the background, though I have the volume off. I understand that desire to seek a bit more stimulation, to check in on what other people are doing, to not be bored (and to split infinitives).
That said, I can step away from my phone when I need to. When my mom and I were at Dollywood I went basically all day without checking Twitter or Facebook. When I was at Dollywood, I was present at Dollywood. I watched the glass makers and metal smiths and the fiddle shows, and when I came back and saw people on Twitter complaining about the iPhone interface design changes, the chatter all seemed dumb and unimportant in comparison to going out and having a new experience, even if that experience was at a place called Dollywood.
It seems like some people are losing the ability to be present at the place they are, to focus just on what is in front of them. If you’re at the movie theater, be present at the movie theatre. The environment is designed to immerse you in the experience. The lights are turned off and the speakers surround you. You’ve paid ten dollars and left your home to be there. Why are some people not content to be there, but also must be elsewhere too?
I think this is partly a generational thing. Kids who were raised on multiple screens might not be as annoyed by this or even view it as problematic behavior as a thirty-something woman like me who remembers the days when you had to sit in a theater and do nothing while you waited for the film to start. No trivia slides. NOTHING. I occasionally brought a magazine with me if I was seeing a movie alone. Magazines do not light up in the dark.
It seems like this is not a problem that is going to go away, so I see only three possible solutions.
1) Have a smartphone section, just like we used to have a smoking section in restaurants. Instead of air pollution we’d corral light pollution. No phone calls allowed, but if you sit in the back five rows you’d be free to use your screen as much as you want.
2) Distribute blinders for patrons who don’t want to be distracted by screens, like the kind put on horses during a race. If you can’t see to the left or right you won’t be distracted by the light of a phone. Of course you would also be much easier to mug during the film.
3) Before each movie ask everyone around you if they plan on using their smartphone during the film, and if they do then move to another seat. This one sounds like the only plan I could actually implement, and I’m seriously considering doing this from now on.
I also have some questions for my readers. No one will be taken to task or shamed for their replies. You don’t even have to use your real name or email address on this one entry. Total amnesty granted.
Have any of you ever used a smartphone during a movie? If so, what were you using it for and why? Did you view it as rude behavior and if so, did you care?
Thanks!
Delurking… This definitely happens with the younger crowd. It annoys the heck out of me, especially when movies up here cost $15+… It is very rude… But when people grow up with these habits and are not told it is wrong, the behaviour continues… And those in their late 30s and over are considered rude for speaking up. This is why the boyfriend and I rarely go to the movies. We hate getting worked up when all we want is to enjoy an evening out at the movies.
I am not a smart phone fan. I think of my iPad (happily) as my geriatric iPod. So size of screen and keyboard (on an iPhone) is just not appealing. But even my old fashioned cell phone is bright. I am super careful in theaters. I have a favorite denim jacket with a deep, inside pocket. I can check the time and also read a text (from one of my kids) with phone tucked in pocket. So I am looking down into pocket, no one around me can see screen light. And we are always in back row.
I agree bright screens are as annoying as talking.
You might have to start sitting in front of theater. . .
I am very, very lucky to live near an Alamo Drafthouse and they take this sort of thing extremely seriously. They will (and have!) kick people out for talking, texting, or just in general being annoying. You don’t even have to leave your seat if you have a complaint! They have a full food/drink menu and when you want to order something you write it down and put the paper standing up in the bar thing in front of your seat. That way you don’t have to talk to order food during the movie if you arrive right before it starts. They mention at the start of every movie if there’s a problem with anyone sitting around you to please put up a note. I’ve gone probably a dozen times or more in the year it’s been open here and not once have I seen any sort of inappropriate behavior, which is definitely in contrast to going to AMC or whatnot!
I can’t stand when people are on their smartphone during a movie. Do they not realize how bright that little screen is? Blinders wouldn’t help because what about the people sitting below you.
If the movie is so bad/boring to you that you feel the need to be on your phone you should leave. Your money is already gone, why lose your time too?
When I saw Guardians of the galaxy everyone was on their phone before the movie (it was with no slides or ads or anything before the show! I didn’t know they still did that.) but as soon as the lights went down everyone put them away. Thankfully.
I commented to a 20-something sitting in front of me at a movie saying “the light on your phone is really distracting” and in response she dimmed the light! Eventually (10 min or so) she did put it away but I was astounded at her audacity!
Nope, never used my IPhone at the movies. Don’t even take it with me.
I have been at the theater when management has chastised people for using their phones. Warned them they would be tossed if they didn’t stop.
Absolutely not, but I loved your phrase, “my precious” in a Gollum-like accent.” We actually don’t have that problem here in NH or at least not at the matinees that we old folks prefer so we can go out to dinner after. Anyway as always I love your writing!!
Oh god, I have. I really have texted on my phone throughout an entire movie–primarily when it’s a tremendously boring kids movie that I was taking my kid to.
HOWEVER, I have only done this if I am able to get into the back row, totally undim my phone, and hide it entirely in my purse so that it is not at all visible to anyone else, because I know it is incredibly rude.
That said, I am pretty bitter about high movie ticket prices these days, so I no longer do it. I insist on watching the movie and getting all of my exorbitantly priced money’s worth.
@Mandi – Thanks for chiming in, Mandi. I was starting to wonder if anyone was going to cop to doing this. I think this falls under exception #2: the movie was really, really, bad, which can be amended with a rider excepting really, really, boring movies too 🙂
I have… only very briefly to see if I’ve gotten any missed calls, texts, or emails from the babysitter at home. I don’t do it much and try to hide it as best I can … I know it’s annoying!
Soooo rude!
I have probably checked the time on my phone once or twice ever (and we go to the movies a LOT), and there may have been a time when I did check for a text due to a family issue. But I always try to keep it very discreet so other patrons won’t see it. I just peek down into my purse and have the phone pocket facing the back of the seat, so the light does not go far.
Last May my family and I were at U of U’s graduation, in the topmost row of the arena. We could see a sea of smartphones in use in the audience below. Games, online shopping, emails, etc. True, graduations can be a bit boring other than the loved one’s march across the stage, but still, a graduation is a special event and I think we should be able to stay focused long enough to be present (in your words).
Of course, the most recent h.s. graduations I’ve been to were even worse: casual-unto-sloppy dress among the audience, and SNACKING. Yes, crackly bags of snack food all over the arena. I’ve seen families take fast food into a brand-new theater arts complex at the h.s. so they can eat during the performance. No class, if you ask me.
I’m so glad you posted this because I was starting to feel like it was just me. When I went to see Tori Amos last week, EVERYONE had the phones out. Recording her and all that. It was so distracting and annoying. I felt about a hundred years old. And my friend who went with me is 65, and she said it didn’t bother her at all! Needless to say, I never take out my phone in a theater. If it’s an emergency I am sure my phone will start vibrating like crazy as my parents call and call, so if it’s just one text or FB update that comes in, no reason to check it.
Okay, time for the senior (over 60) opinion. We go to the movies as a group weekly, and have yet to go and not see someone asked to either turn off the phone, or leave. Often the phone user is rather hostile and grumbly.
The die hard attachment to smart phones is a huge pet peeve of mine, and many of my friends.
It has even become a problem in the grocery store, or while dining out. It seems more and more you have to wait for some self serving person to finish playing with their phone before they’ll even acknowledge you are there.
And yes, thanks to my kids, I have a smart phone – which I do use – when I am not interfering with anyone else’s space. It’s gotten quite sad how it has become a “me first” attitude mostly everywhere.
This is such a pet peeve of mine. Movies are so expensive and they are a real treat, I just can’t understand spending all that money and then spending the time on your phone not paying attention to the movie. We always sit in the front half of the theater and only go to matinees for this reason alone. Still, occasionally a movie will be popular and someone’s rogue phone will pop up in my peripheral. It’s also weird to me because the second the credits start to roll the kid in front of us (this last time) started playing a video game, it’s like he could not go 2 minutes without some sort of stimulus. It’s really disturbing, probably because I’m old. To the kid he’s just playing a game he likes.
Like Jez, I see most of my movies at the Alamo Drafthouse which has a very strict no talking/no texting policy. To be honest I find it incredibly stupid – somehow my phone is more disturbing than people eating full meals and wait staff trying to half-heartedly sneak around with drink refills?
Honestly phone use does not bother me. The flash of a phone might draw my attention for a second, but in my opinion such distractions are a by-product of being around human beings and if you want to watch a movie in total darkness and silence wait until you can watch it at home. If I could use my phone during a movie, it would be to look things up – I just recently watched Into the Storm and I was looking up tornado facts as soon as I got home. I guess that’s just how my brain works, it wants information and it wants it NOW. 🙂
@Kate – Out of curiosity, how old are you? You said you think this is a by-product of being around human beings so I was wondering if you’re in your teens or 20’s and are someone who grew up with mobile phones always around, or if you’re older and have become acclimated to the behavior around them.
@JenFul – I’m 38 and proud to say I have a long history of being annoyed by my fellow humans. 🙂
@Kate – LOL, thanks! BTW, I would pay twice as much money to see a new release in the privacy of my own home rather than in a theater. I loved that I was able to do that with the Veronica Mars movie. Unfortunately, because of the way the film and theater business work I doubt that will become a common thing.
“Magazines do not light up.”
Great quote!! 😉 Love that.
Signed, the nerdy reading-obsessed kid who used to bring a paperback book to read during her brother’s super boring basketball games. And grown-ups would tease me for it!
I refuse to get a smarthphone or tablet — I do think people are addicted to them. I have a flip phone that I carry, and i have a laptop at home. I have no desire to be constantly available, or checking every other minute on unimportant websites or e-mails. Like you say, be present at the activity you are actually doing! I have asked companions to put away their phones at restaurants and concerts, and they do, but they act like I am really unreasonable to ask.
Yes our phones (and technology in general) are getting smarter and smarter but I think it’s about being raised with consideration for others. I am 29. I have checked my cell durinf a movie when I was bored or checking the time to do the math of how much longer til the movie was over. I have checked it from a deep pocket or underneath a sweatshirt, etc. anything to minimize the inconvenience of those around me. Movies are expensive and I paid just as much as they did for their ticket. Put it away or at least be really discreet about checking it! Or go outside the theater. If youre checking your phone youre not paying attention to the movie anyway. I went to a movie a few months ago and the woman had that cell phone feature where the screen flashes several times to let you know you received a text rather then it making a sound. She used it several times. I didnt realize she was texting til the movie was almost over (I had thought she was using some sort of special needs device to understand the movie). People are just so rude and inconsiderate, unfortunately.
I have to look at mine if it buzzes because of my little girl’s special medical needs – *have to*. The number of times I’ve feared something was wrong vs. the number of times something was actually wrong is thankfully a pretty big difference, but we mommies, and especially mommies of medically fragile kids, have to be on high alert at all times just the same, even if our kiddos were totally fine when we left them.
Other than that, I’m a good little movie goer 🙂
I agree with you that it’s an addiction. I made a rule with myself to put the darn thing down until my kids are in the bed, because there is pretty much nothing in the world that could be going on that’s more important than what’s happening when we’re together. Awww.
If you are unwilling to turn your phone off at a film screening, or even, God forbid, leave it at home, then please just stay home.