Off Topic Rant: had enough of a friend and her bloody smartphone!

Last night me and my hubby went out with a friend and her hubby for a meal, postponed from the weekend my mum died. It was a nice meal and we had a nice chat, though the pub was a bit noisy, but I've had an issue for a long time about her being attached to her ****ing iPhone!

Both me and my husband have smartphones - Androids - but to be honest we don't have many friends and family is another story, so when we go out the phones are parked and we concentrate on the people we're socialising with.

But she can't seem to ****ing get off her phone!

During the meal out comes the phone and I think, 'Here we go.' She thought her son had rung her, but the signal was so poor in the pub she couldn't ring him back. I thought it was fair enough it was family but then again her son is in his 30s and married and if it wasn't that important why not text or Whatsapp; had she not told him she was out with friends tonight? Next her husband gets a call and he goes off to take it but he's soon back.

Meal over, we're invited back for a coffee and a chat as we usually are. We say yes, though we both work and it's Friday night and we're hanging: been a busy working week for us both, so we don't plan to stay too long. We get coffee, we're chatting, well her hubby is - she's spending half the time texting/Whatsapping people. I'm in the middle of a speech about something and she butts in, 'Oh, I think so-and-sos drunk he's said blah-di-blah!' Her hubby says something about her getting these texts and if he gets them he tells them to eff off: I get the impression he finds it annoying as well.

I mean, **** me, I think: am I boring you or something? So I take a deep breath and continue with what I'm saying.

I've known her for 20 odd years; she's been a good friend to me, listened, been there, but I'm sorry, it's ****ing rude what she does and I'm seriously pissed off about it today!

So OK maybe we are sad in comparison with no family and no friends but Jesus don't ****ing rub our noses in it! And if they ring if it's important they can ring back!

My fella seems to think I have two choices: let it go, or dump her as a friend. He agrees it's bad manners, but he thinks I'm making too much of it.

Sorry, just needed to rant!

 

She's not unusual unfortunately Wishi. If it's any consolation it does my tits in as well.

People have become totally obsessed by the things.

You go to a nice restaurant and see young couples staring at the things sat in silence.

It's modern social ineptitude I'm afraid.

Next time she does it just stop talking and stare at her, I find that tends to cause a moment of awkwardness and a realisation that they're being rude.

Sorry to here about your mum btw.

 

I'm thinking of an experiment tbh Tobes and that's to do the same thing to her to see how she ****ing likes it. It's gone beyond the ****ing pale now and I've had enough of it. I shall purposely put my phone on the table, which I never do, and I shall check it periodically as though it were on silent.

Thanks; Mum died in November but it's still kind of raw.

 

i echo tobes comments wishi, does my head in as well and it is fecking rude.

you look around you nowdays and most people are on the damn things, makes you wonder how their lives coped before they was invented lol

its the way of things now days sadly, faceache twatter and all the other ap ****e people use.

 

I suspect that experiment might back fire. As she'll take it as licence to spend even more time glued to hers and you'll end up fuming

Here's another one for you.....when she picks it up and starts texting, say something like "what did we do befdore we got those damn things, oh yeah we rang each other up every now and then and had a catch up, or God forbid actually met up and had a chat. Now we're so obsessed with the things aren't we.......not sure about you but I find them very intrusive in certain circumstances......."

 

Send her on a nice holiday to Dusseldorf......

People's obsession with their phones drives me crazy. I refuse to become a slave to mine- ask RHC- but you can't stop others.
And you're right, it's just rude in company to have your head stuck in your phone all the time.
I think it's bad enough when you visit someone for the evening and they keep the bloody telly on, tbh. Unless you've gone specifically to watch something.

 

well if they turn up un announced and the footie is on **** em

can you tell i dont have many friends either lol.

 

Yeah,I agree its really irritating. Its become a social norm and its everywhere

If she's a close friend I would actually speak to her about it,maybe go through the hubby first if it bugs him to. She might thank you for it someday

 

Makes you wonder, though, when it's her suggestion to go out for a meal then go back for coffee, then to ignore you while she's busy checking her phone, what it is about you that's so boring!

I've sent her whatsapp in the past and I've had to wait for a reply because she's been busy doing other ****.

I hear you Tobes, but **** me I need to show her how irritating it is. Maybe it'll bug her too but if no one else does it in her presence she may not realise how annoying it really is!

 

That's different!

 

When my kids were up over Christmas, we were sat there one night with the TV on. I was on my iPad and I looked up and there was my 3 and their partners, together with my wife and of course me - all sat there engrossed in phones / tablets sat in total silence. 8 of us in one room and all silo'd in our own personal Internet inanity.

I realised it was hideous, stood up turned the TV off and said "look at us lot engrossed in these bloody things" everyone put them down immediately and we went old skool and played some games, charades and the like, within 10 minutes the room was full of laughter and we had an absolute scream all evening. They're great pieces of kit but I dread to think what the social skills of the next generation are going to be like, frightening.

 

Well obviously. (To both sentences )
Like is say, if it's something specific then ok. If you turn up unannounced then you take your chances, but I've been to parties where the host leaves the piggin telly on all night and people just stare at it.
Unbelievable.

 

If I do challenge her I'll have to choose my words carefully; I think I can only do it by show and tell. We are friends but I'm unsure we're as close as all that tbh.

 

You did right, Tobes, but I bet they all felt uncomfortable!

My 9-year-old niece got a tablet for Christmas; when I was her age the nearest I got to one of those was an Etch-a-sketch and I loved it! Why? No such animal as a laptop or tablet back then.

 

And all the parents saying "Look at these bloody kids with their noses stuck in bloody Etch-a-Sketches. Drives me mad.

 

"when i were a lad, ruddy youth of today" etc blah blah

 

I remember the houses I used to draw. Happy days!

 

Did you have a Spirograph?

 

Then you posted the story to an online forum and got 4 likes for it

Buy yeah it's good when the situation (no signal, or some belligerent ****) forces people to stop being lazy and take a break

 

i did, but i had more enjoyment drawing the patterns we used to make with the lines and you keep moving it up each time and it makes an arc going round.

hopefully you know what i mean hard to explain lol.