Cell phone use in walk-in clinics

[ohgeeze]

Can we try not to use words such as mentally deficient to describe someone who may be a tad immature or lack common sense.

Thanks.

[johnhenry]

It's ironic that many of the folks who complain about younger generations using their gadgets in waiting rooms, probably used to smoke cigarettes in waiting rooms back in their younger days . . .

Those same people now see the " No Smoking" sign and don't smoke. Signs are up for a reason.

[Woodenhead]

The best part is how a receptionist already posted that it's OK to use your phone silently in the waiting room (text, play a game, etc.) but here we are, 10 pages later.

No need to let a fact get in the way of some good ol' fun-time bias & sopaboxing.

PS my grandparents were great for holding an intelligent, informed, and unbiased discussion, which is more than I can say for most here. But now I wonder - does being a grandparent suddenly imbue a person with infinite wisdom?

[crookedmember]

It's ironic that many of the folks who complain about younger generations using their gadgets in waiting rooms, probably used to smoke cigarettes in waiting rooms back in their younger days . . .

Those same people now see the " No Smoking" sign and don't smoke. Signs are up for a reason.

If they needed signs to tell them it's disgusting, rude and dangerous to stink up and fill an enclosed space with smoke, they're dumber than I thought.

Smartphones are more than phones, they're computers. While talking on a phone in a waiting room may be rude, someone silently checking their email or texting shouldn't bother any emotionally healthy person.

[johnhenry]

It's ironic that many of the folks who complain about younger generations using their gadgets in waiting rooms, probably used to smoke cigarettes in waiting rooms back in their younger days . . .

Those same people now see the " No Smoking" sign and don't smoke. Signs are up for a reason.

If they needed signs to tell them it's disgusting, rude and dangerous to stink up and fill an enclosed space with smoke, they're dumber than I thought.

Smartphones are more than phones, they're computers. While talking on a phone in a waiting room may be rude, someone silently checking their email or texting shouldn't bother any emotionally healthy person.

It's not about the smoking. It's about rules and regulations. I wonder if these are the same people that park in handicap spaces or no parking zones.

[Woodenhead]

The best part is how a receptionist already posted that it's OK to use your phone silently in the waiting room (text, play a game, etc.) but here we are, 10 pages later.

No need to let a fact get in the way of some good ol' fun-time bias & sopaboxing.

A few posts later:

It's not about the smoking. It's about rules and regulations. I wonder if these are the same people that park in handicap spaces or no parking zones.

No need to let a fact get in the way of some good ol' fun-time bias & sopaboxing.

[johnhenry]

The best part is how a receptionist already posted that it's OK to use your phone silently in the waiting room (text, play a game, etc.) but here we are, 10 pages later.

No need to let a fact get in the way of some good ol' fun-time bias & sopaboxing.

A few posts later:

It's not about the smoking. It's about rules and regulations. I wonder if these are the same people that park in handicap spaces or no parking zones.

No need to let a fact get in the way of some good ol' fun-time bias & sopaboxing.

I didn't realize that one receptionist could speak for all the clinics in town. I hope that she took the sign down in her waiting area. Maybe she can get back on this forum and let everyone know which clinic to go to if people want to use their cell phone while waiting.

[Woodenhead]

Thanks for admitting you were wrong. Takes a big person. (nice sidestep attempt, tho)

[crookedmember]

It's not about the smoking. It's about rules and regulations. I wonder if these are the same people that park in handicap spaces or no parking zones.

The signs say 'turn off cell phones,' not 'turn off computers.'

I'm not sure why you would try to connect someone who silently answers their email in a waiting room to someone who parks in handicap spaces.

[johnhenry]

It's not about the smoking. It's about rules and regulations. I wonder if these are the same people that park in handicap spaces or no parking zones.

The signs say 'turn off cell phones,' not 'turn off computers.'

I'm not sure why you would try to connect someone who silently answers their email in a waiting room to someone who parks in handicap spaces.

I'm not connecting anything. If the sign says No Cell Phones then there should be no cell phones.

[crookedmember]

I'm not connecting anything. If the sign says No Cell Phones then there should be no cell phones.

A phone is something one talks on. If one is not talking, they are not using a phone. I suggest next time you're in a doctor's office, ask the receptionist if it's OK to silently text and answer email while you wait. Perhaps others have already asked and that is why they're using their devices.

[Dash5]

I'm not connecting anything. If the sign says No Cell Phones then there should be no cell phones.

You seem pretty worked up about this topic so maybe you'll answer the questions I've asked a few times now that no one else seems to want to answer.

What if the offending device was NOT a cell phone at all? Would you be just as upset if someone was checking emails or texting or reading Castanet on an iPod? Afterall, an iPod is NOT a cell phone and therefore not subject to the rule spelled out on "the sign".

[Jonrox]

I can turn the pages of a magazine on my iPad or phone quieter than somebody can turn the pages of a paper magazine. This leads me to think there's another reason these folks are adverse to technology.

They're simply too narrow-minded to accept that communication has evolved and don't want to accept the new rules and social norms that are associated with these new tools. They can continue to resist and complain, but the world isn't going to stop advancing... it's just going to leave them further and further behind.

[twofingers]

This is more fun than watching chicken parts thaw.

[slootman]

Its funny that the original issue wasn't that peoples' cell phone use was noisy, offensive or disturbing to others in ANY WAY whatsoever. Its just one person who saw a sign that was likely written before the invention of a smart phone (thats a cell phone that does internet stuff, for those who don't know) and got annoyed. Not hurt, ridiculed, or abused...just annoyed.

I think a previous poster hit the nail on the head - resistance to technology. Its not 'rude' that people use smartphones. Its 'normal'.