To Find this Woman in the Cinema Rude

[LessMissAbs]

Me and my friend were watching a film in the cinema tonight. She doesn't wear a watch and must have been checking her phone for the time - its a habit of hers to do this, or to ask people the time. I was sitting next to her and I didn't notice it.

There was an empty seat to her other side between her and a woman. The woman suddenly boomed out in the middle of the film, "If you want to play your phone, you can go outside and do it instead of in here".

It was mortifying, and she interrupted the film for me. I was really embarrassed for my friend, but we didn't say anything.

At the end of the film, as we were standing up to leave, I said to the woman "I don't really care if you were disturbed by a light during the film or not, I don't want to have to the film interrupted by your booming voice". She then started arguing back (she said something like "Oh you'd like to be a cheeky one, wouldn't you, and some other stuff) but we turned our backs towards her and her husband so that she was talking to ourselves, put on our coats and left.

Kind of ruined the film for both of us. Normally I find going to the cinema relaxing!

[JodieGarberJacob]

But what are you checking ThreeLittleWords? I'm not being sarcastic but I can't think of anything I need to check my phone for. I have it set on vibrate for incoming texts and calls and keep social networking and candycrush etc for when I've got 10 minutes or so free on my own. I am old and boring though...

[Suelford]

"if you are going to try the bossy controlling act in a cinema full of people by making a comment at the end, then you run the risk of meeting a person unafraid to call you out on it."

I'm so glad you finally realised your friend was in the wrong! She was running the bossy controlling act by doing what she wanted, regardless of her neighbours, I'm-going-to-shine-this-in-your-face-and-I-don't-care, but fortunately she was sat next to someone who was unafraid of calling her out on it!

[Salmotrutta]

sparklysilversequins - lights shining in one's peripheral vision is incredibly distracting.

That is a fact. Whether you agree or not.

It's guaranteed to irritate and break concentration.

If you turned phone light on in our cinema "in my neighbourhood" it wouldn't be a bucket of popcorn as a hat that would be your problem.

[yarn33]

I like that multiple phone-cinema users have made posts implicating that people who call them out for it should be careful in case the phone user is somehow bigger or harder than them and might do something to them. Still it figures that the rudest posters on this thread seem to also be in the minority of people who think messing with a phone during a cinema screening is acceptable behaviour.

[WestieMamma]

Don't they tell you at the beginning to turn off your phones? The cinemas here do.

[LessMissAbs]

Well, I go to the cinema to relax. Not to listen to people's personal rants. If something irritated me that much, I would wait until the end of the film, or keep it to myself. If it was really unbearable, such as seat kicking, or loud talking, I would direct my words to the person in question and keep my voice reasonably low so as to avoid disturbing any more people than necessary.

But I'm considerate that way. As I say, I go to the cinema to relax. I realise its a public place, and I'm reasonably tolerant that other people also exist and may not behave exactly as I would like them to do.

I would find having an outburst at something like a very unrelaxing experience.

[ThreeLittleWords]

Jodie, nothing important. I just have a really short attention span.

I avoid the cinema as best as I can because of it, but as it offends people I think it's best I don't go!

[Suelford]

Also yarn it's somehow the rest of the audience's fault for not being engrossed enough in the film.

[DoYouLikeMyBaubles]

I used to be a massive move goer but stopped because I need a wee all the time. Last time I went was when the Dark Knight came out. I needed a wee, would usually get an aisle seat but couldn't as all seats were booked so risked it. I went for a wee and as I came back and was doing my 'excuse me's' a man slapped me on the bum and told me to hurry up.

I would have caused holy hell in any other situation. :(

[VampyreofTimeandMemory]

i check my phone at the cinema so i know the kids are okay. to my knowledge, no-one has every noticed. and you don't have to turn your phone off at the cinema anymore, some times you're encourage to use it for cinema-related stuff.

[LessMissAbs]

In answer to why was she checking the time? I'm really not sure, I know she wasn't wearing a watch tonight. She's quite a nervous sort of person, so it might just be a sort of reaction thing. I honestly never noticed so I can't be sure.

What I do know is that she was quite upset and embarrassed at being told not to play with her phone in the middle of a cinema.

[fanjofarrow]

I must be weird then, as I wouldn't be arsed in the slightest if someone quickly checked the time on their phone in the cinema. Wouldn't do it myself, but it's hardly a big deal.

If they started yapping on it, that would be different.

[JodieGarberJacob]

I avoid it as well. I find my mind wandering about 5 minutes in and then when I force myself to concentrate it's too late because I don't know what's happening!

[VampyreofTimeandMemory]

the light of the phone screen is hardly a match for the cinema screen anyway.

[Suelford]

"What I do know is that she was quite upset and embarrassed at being told not to play with her phone in the middle of a cinema."

She should be upset and embarrassed at having to be told this in the first place.

[sparklysilversequins]

You can't speak for everyone by saying that. It's not distracting for me and I have never in RL heard anyone moaning about it. Not one time, not in the cinema and not amongst anyone i know. I turn my screen down to dim and yes I do and always will check my phone as my family situation of having two dc with additional needs dictates that I need to constantly be in touch. I find the furore on MN about it totally petty and pathetic to be honest, falling squarely under the umbrella of looking for things to have a problem with in life.

[WestieMamma]

If you didn't notice her on the phone at all you don't really know that she was just checking the time or how many times she'd done it or for how long. She could have been mnetting for the duration.

[sparklysilversequins]

That's right vampyre at Vue they do quizzes that you need to use your phone for.

[sparklysilversequins]

OP your post of 00.44 is bang on.

[RandyRudolf]

I think from time to time some people for whatever reason will check their phone once or twice during a performance. I think it's the habitual users who can't leave it alone which are the problem here.

[Caitlin17]

To all of you who feel the need to check your phones several times to make sure your children are ok during a period of 90 minutes to 3 hours maximum what do you think will happen? Spontaneous cumbustion?

Surely you have left your children with an appropriate sitter?

[hmc]

Surely the candidate for the rudest person on the thread was Harpyfishwifetwat who suggested that the OP "needs help" - and Harpy is in your terminally offended of middle England camp

[VampyreofTimeandMemory]

well that's the thing caitlin, you actually have no idea, do you?

[ElkTheory]

Spot on, Suelford.

LessMiss, you didn't notice the light but it obviously bothered the woman in question. So she asked your friend not to check her phone. I would imagine the cinema you went to has a reminder about turning all mobile phones off for the duration of the film, right? So there was no reason for your friend to have her phone on at all.

Once more with feeling: Your friend was wrong. The woman had every right to speak up. You were rude.

"I'm considerate that way." Well. . . no comment on that one.

[HaroldTheGoat]

I like to check my phone when my children are with a sitter, even my mum and I like to text and call just to check all is well.

Perfectly reasonable.