h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I think the problem that most people have with mobile phones is the fact that people tend to speak much louder down the phone then they do to someone standing next to them. We should always try to talk as quietly as we can when on the phone. There's no need to shout most phones are sensitive enough to cope with a quieter indoor "library" voice.

If you do find yourself shouting, no matter how hard you try to control it, it's usually a subconscious reaction to your phone being too quiet ("If I'm having trouble hearing you, you must be having trouble hearing me.") so turning the volume up a little may help. The increased volume from your phone will be nowhere near as irritating as your raised voice.

Tran.

Loud talking is only one of the many problems I have with mobile phone users.

Here in Houston, Texas, USA, the automobile is about the only means of transportation, so the freeways and most other streets, constantly under construction, are overloaded with aggressive drivers trying to "win the race" by speeding, changing lanes every few seconds, etc. Add to that mix the driver with a mobile phone in his/her ear - distracting both the speeders and the slow, confused types - and the situation becomes lethal. I read an article recently where a police spokesman basically admitted they were understaffed by a factor of ten or more to make an effort at enforcement. So its a no-man's land on the streets. The incidents I've seen involving mobile phones on the streets are too numerous to mention.

A recent incident in a store also comes to mind. I'm waiting in the "Please Wait Here for the Next Available Clerk" line when a man with a cell phone in his ear, head down, comes walking backward through the exit lane. He walks in front of me up to the counter where the customer is just finished and waits for the clerk, head still down, talking away. When the clerk starts to check him out, I protest, so the clerk says, "Come around to the other counter" and checks me out first. I make a few loud, rude comments about cell phone users, completely lost on the talker.

After finding my wife, we are leaving the store a minute later when the same man almost walks over us on the way out of the store. He looks startled, says "Excuse me" and lets us pass. So he is either oblivious or devious. I don't care, either way, he's a moron.

My main problem with mobile phones is that people are so wrapped up in the conversations here having over the airways and via their texts that they often miss out on the day to day interactions that used to be common place. Who knows if the person opposite you on the bus is the most interesting person they've ever met? NO ONE. Everybody is studiously avoiding other human beings in their vicinity in favour of benign conversations about where they happen to be, or how bored they are,
Okay admittidly the person opposite may be a serial killer- but whats life without these little adventures.
The mobile phone community is becoming conversationally incestuous. How many people in your phone book do you actually call? Mobile phones have there place, but they shouldn't dissuade people from 'first contact'

Apparently, some people go into actual phone booths to talk on mobiles. This is incredibly annoying for those of us who do not have mobiles and might actually need to use the payphone.

And regarding talking on mobiles in cars - in Ireland, there is now a law against it. surprisingly, it seems to work.

There`s a law against it here in the UK as well but it doesn`t seem to be working too well here... yet.

Ireland isn't in the UK anymore?

Have you been living under a rock on Planet X for the last fifty odd years.

you know it's going too far when the guy standing next to you at the urinal startles you by making a mobile phone call. yes it happened to me.

the rule of thumb is pretty simple. never make a mobile call where talking to yourself would be noticeably odd.