more on Theater Owners Want to Jam Cell Phones

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

or yelling children or a nagging SO



Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
Date: December 22, 2005 12:29:59 PM EST
To: steven cherry <steven () panix com>
Cc: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>, David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Re: [IP] more on Theater Owners Want to Jam Cell Phones

> Carriers can't arrange for doctors to have aisle seats, but most
> doctors seem to figure that out for themselves, or arrange to not
> be on call when they're in a theatre, as my wife (a organ transplant
> coordinator) does.

What this really says is that common sense and courtesy, on the part
of everyone involved, is really the key to this issue.  However,
even many doctors who are not officially "on call" at the moment may
need to be reached in an emergency.

But what we're really looking at here is cell phones as the whipping
boy.  Cell phone usage doesn't even get onto my list of major
annoyances at commercial theaters.  But cell phones are an easy
target getting an out of proportion level of attention.

We've seen much the same thing happen with cell phone usage when
driving.  Cell phones are by no means the top item on the list of
distractions that contribute to auto accidents.  But they're more
visible, and again, an easy target.  So we end up with inane driving
laws mandating hands-free units, even though virtually every study
suggests that there's essentially no difference in distraction
between hand-held and hands-free cell phones when driving.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () pfir org or lauren () vortex com or lauren () eepi org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
  - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, EEPI
  - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative - http://www.eepi.org
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com




-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org
To manage your subscription, go to
 http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/