I wonder, How is it different for someone to be having a conversation via
their mobile phone than someone having a conversation with someone
physically present next to you?  We wouldn't necessarily feel the need to
interrupt someone holding a conversation with someone physically present,
nor would we comment upon that conversation, nor would we give them dirty
looks for talking.  So something here seems to be different.  Is it that
we can't hear both sides of the conversation that makes us think that the
conversation should be entirely private?

 I wonder, though, why using an electronic device is viewed as different
than writing on paper.  How many people doodle in the margins while
"listening" to a presentation?  Is it because the electronic content is
somehow interactive, or because it's potentially connected to others, that
we find it offensive?

 There's a commonality in these dislikes: the individual with the device is
connected with another individual who is not physically present and is
inaccessible to those around the individual with the device.

 I suspect that we're feeling left out of the conversation - that the
individual with the device is less present because they're interacting with
someone outside of our immediate access.  I also suspect that we recognize
that there's a difference between physical presence and mental attention,
in the case of the use of electronic devices during a presentation, but
that this is perhaps a special case of feeling left out rather than it
being a different phenomenon.

 -D

 On Wed 16/05/12 3:17 PM , Anne Pfeffer [log in to unmask] sent:

 Or, since we are taking about the lack of courtesy and manners, join in 
 their phone conversation by providing comments and opinion on what you 
 hear.

 Regards,

 Anne T. Pfeffer
 Manager, Corporate Records

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