Cell phone use in walk-in clinics

[babybunnies]

Biggest reason to shut off your phone at a walk in clinic or doctor's office is really just to be respectful of the other patients in the waiting room, it's the same REAL reason that airlines don't want people using their phone on the plane.

[Takin it easy !]

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'.

Abuse and addiction goes beyond (normal) and calling it for what it is how can that be resistance to technology ?
Its not the technology that's the problem its the addicted that have the affliction !

[Hmmm]

IF ANY NEW POSTER COMES ALONG, HERE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS. 1. Some think turn cell phones off means smartphones or anything that looks like one. 2. Others think that smartphones on silent are fine to use. 3. People who work at clinics and those who have already asked about it, said its ok to use them. 4. The first group doesn't care that its ok as long as the sign says off. 5. The Lord has not weighed in on this discussion yet, but everyone else has. And PS he is ok with the technology too.

[Takin it easy !]

IF ANY NEW POSTER COMES ALONG, HERE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS. 1. Some think turn cell phones off means smartphones or anything that looks like one. 2. Others think that smartphones on silent are fine to use. 3. People who work at clinics and those who have already asked about it, said its ok to use them. 4. The first group doesn't care that its ok as long as the sign says off. 5. The Lord has not weighed in on this discussion yet, but everyone else has. And PS he is ok with the technology too.

Once again for those that still don't get it there is nothing wrong with technology there is however something wrong with addiction and abuse of technology !

[Hmmm]

the thread isn't about addiction. Why don't you start one and leave this one? Are you too addicted to a subject that this isn't about?

[gardengirl]

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'.

So, in short, rude is the new normal. Sad but true.

[crookedmember]

So, in short, rude is the new normal. Sad but true.

Why is it any more rude to answer my email in a waiting room than it is to, say, thumb through a germ-infested magazine?

[johnhenry]

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".

Where do you see that I am " worked up "? I'm not "worked up" . I just think that the sign is up for a reason. I have no problem with IPad use, smart phone use( not the phone part), even laptop use. My point is if there is a sign up, respect it.

[Takin it easy !]

Unfortunately Rude,Self Serving and Entitlement is the new normal for many !

[sooperphreek]

we came by that honestly from the older generation

[Always Sunny]

Unfortunately Rude,Self Serving and Entitlement is the new normal for many !

Paying a bill online or quietly replying to an email from my father in Ontario while waiting to see a doctor is "rude, self serving, and entitled"?

Dramatic overstatement of the week right there.

By the way...electronic devices are not banned on aircraft, it's simply the transmitting and receiving functions. Like anything else else, it's how these things are use respectfully (or not) that gets people going.

If that were the case than this wouldn't have become an issue just now:
http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/travelkit ... -1B7992098

[WhatThe]

I was in a clinic the other day and the door sign did not say "no phones", it said " no food or drink". I asked if my coffee was ok "no problem they said, so I sat there drank my coffee and laughed at this thread.

All the damned signs mean is don't make a mess and don't disturb others. It's that simple.

[exFarmerS]

I'm 56 and all the "no cell phone" rule means to me is that I turn off the sound and don't talk on it. I text, cruise the internet, read the news, post on FB, etc.

[mexi cali]

Why is it any more rude to answer my email in a waiting room than it is to, say, thumb through a germ-infested magazine?

It's not rude and that isn't what this thread is about. It is about people. It is about attitudes. It is about indifference and it is about ignorance.

No one, at least not anyone whose issues don't run deeper than the topic would object to a person who is quietly using a smartphone or tablet. It is the person who is blind to the fact that no one around them needs to or wants to hear their call as though they were a part of it and there are many who just don't understand this or worse, don't care.

Play the game, read the book, send the text or answer the e-mail. There is no harm or offence in this but everyone who has responded to this thread knows exactly who these signs are targeted at.

It is about respect.

[Dash5]

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".

Where do you see that I am " worked up "? I'm not "worked up" . I just think that the sign is up for a reason. I have no problem with IPad use, smart phone use( not the phone part), even laptop use. My point is if there is a sign up, respect it.

It’s such a simple question but sadly that's about as close as I've got to an answer yet.

OK, so you say you have no problem with iPad use (I was asking about iPods actually, not iPads but whatever) and then you also mentioned smart phones and laptops too. The reason I am asking about iPods specifically is because I wonder how many people would even be able to distinguish between and iPod and an iPhone. Since they look almost identical I have my doubts. This question is valid because the sign only prohibits cell phones, not electronic devices of all types (although there appears to be a certain crowd on here that believes the term "cell phone" is a catch-all phrase meaning any handheld electronic device). Since an iPod (or similar device) is clearly NOT a cell phone the sign simply does not apply and therefore you are free to use them without having to worry about disrespecting the precious sign!

Having said that, a smart phone with the phone features turned off is no different than an iPod and is essentially no longer a cell phone. If I find myself in a clinic waiting room in the presence of such a sign I'll respectfully turn off the phone feature of my smart phone and simply browse the net and read the Castanet forums in silence. Thanks.