Manners and technology

I'm feeling like I need to have an Uno rant, however you can be sure mine won't be nearly as funny or cleverly written   

I went to my kids winter concert today and I really wanted to scream and slap quite a few people up the side of the head!  Seriously I know everyone has phones and thinks they should take crappy photos everything but where are manners and simple consideration!  When did it become ok to sit your butt in a chair and wildly wave your overly bright phone in the air above you for not just quick snaps but the whole freakin performance!!!  Do you ever see photographers waving cameras above their heads snapping off photos??? No you find them around the edge or down low being as inconspicuous as possible.  No one wants to watch a performance while being blinded by an overly bright screen nor do they want to watch the performance on your screen because its right in their way!  Even worse is people who don't know how to use the camera so have flashes going off in the middle of a dark performance WTH!  It wasn't just a couple people it was the majority! If you can't turn the brightness down, turn the flash off and hold the phone in front of you to take photos put it in your damn pocket and enjoy the performance instead of ruining it for everyone     

I'm not even very old but feeling like a curmudgeon today.  Seems technology has got people forgetting manners completely   

Kids worked so hard on performance and it was great
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One of the many times some idiot used flash to take photo of a dark performance!!!  WTH!
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Kids had such a great idea and worked so hard on a dark performance and were flashed like this at least 5times!

yep thats right lift your screens a little higher in the air
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Not a single photo was I able to shoot around waving phones but I used my feet and tried making sure I didn't stand in front of anyone.

Show looks awesome ! But I understand what you're saying ! And the dumb thing is also that after a few days most will erase the pic's ? I think that they should announce that there will be no picture taking during the performance , or maybe suggest to the school to record the performance and if a parent want's a copy sent to them that they just need to leave a sending address ?

Alas Serjay, you are describing the norm. It disturbs me that people seem to think what they want is more important than what they do to others.

I interesting post this morning as we had a discussion here about the impact of technology on society. Our Christmas concert was yesterday as well. The school did a wonderful job and we were glad to see that music is still alive and well in a small community. The principal had a long rant about turning off the cell phones, but he should have mentioned about not taking photos from the seat with cell phones. It was a minor annoyance here with only a couple photos during the performance. Our discussion included concerns about the number of children being very over weight, working parents, technological babysitters, lack of physical education facilities in a community where the school system has abandoned a school to save costs.

Serjay, that was a very good Uno rant. I"ll have to meet this Uno person someday, he sounds interesting.

I think you are dead on with your rant and further I think a letter to the editor of the newspaper is in order! The school should also be stepping up to explain that ALL PHONES MUST BE TURNED OFF! And photos can be taken AFTER the performance. I find it a gross statement on the pathetic mentality of people that they have to be instructed on how not to be blithering idiots when among others.

Horse Daughter and Boyfriend are addicted to their phones. THey both come to 'visit' and neither puts their damn phone down, he is even worse because his has a screen and he can internet with it (hers is just a phone). I explained to them both, pointedly, that if they care to come visit me they will LEAVE THEIR STINKING PHONES IN THE TRUCK! Otherwise a man with medical training and a very long arm will need to be employed to retrieve the phone from its sudden and unexpected placement in a awkward, personal place.

Serjay, it saddens me to say, the more I know of people, the more I like my animals. But the performance looks excellent! Hats off to the kids for soldiering on despite the fact they were playing to a crowd of mostly morons.

Its crazy but true. I personally feel that as we advance in the technological side we lose everything we learnt for generations. Manners, conversation human to human that is... and common sense!

So Serjay rant away! Your not wrong and make a very valid point! Be sure that fools head rolls a distance away so it can't get back into the techno-zombie mode   

Oh yes and what a cool idea for a concert. It looks like it was fun to watch.

Well I had an internal rant yesterday about a similar issue. It was my daughters preschool party for christmas. We drop the kids off at usual time. They decorate and set places at the table for their guest and get everything ready. Parents or special guest come back for the last hour and half for the party. After the songs are performed and various things the kids are learning like an awesome rendition of o'canada sung by 3 and 4 year olds we sit down for a snack. Well some mothers are more social then others and some just keep to their circle ( drs wives are clicky!). ANways the two sitting across from me were off and on their phones the whole time. I thought really? You cant put it away to spend an hour with your baby who is brimming with joy you have come to see their class and share the party. The best part was one of them invited the other up to big white for a night right in front of the rest of us then made a phone call to arrange it.

Really? REally?

People!! Really!

I would like to see school Christmas concerts abolished in favour of small, in-class performances. The 4 minutes my kid is on stage is great, but I don't care to sit through the other two hours to watch everyone else's children.

I no longer go, or take our kids to the school Christmas concerts. Due to the duplicate grades and small sized gymnasium, it's turned into a two day event. Half the school performing both afternoon and evening the first day, then the other half doing that again the next. My kids always end up on the opposite days from each other. Every year it's done as a single themed play, with a few kids performing for the 1.5 hours On stage and the rest sitting on bleachers off stage as occasional back up chorus. Bah humbug!
This will be the third year since we decided to not do it anymore. It's fantastic!
Instead, my boys are put to the task of writing me a poem and reciting it Christmas eve. No technology needed and much more tangible.

Ah Serjay that looks an awesome performance. just awesome. I love school performances and take my hat off to the teachers who put themselves in to making them happen - kids get to be part of a team and show what they can pull off together. Just watched my 18 year old son perform at the school show, Westside Story. Last year it was Grease, he played Kinnicke that time. This year a smaller role but it is such a neat thing to see them face their fears and get in to it. I believe in it, gives confidence. I did have to stop myself from telling a couple of people to stop talking loudly or skyping , just waited and they stopped. I decided I would not let it be irritating to me this time and they were not too bad really. But I'm not always that calm. I have to be careful because my kids feel shamed some times when I speak up, just an iddy biddy woman who has the gall to speak out and if there is trouble I'll take it as far as it needs to - so long as I believe in the cause, I'm all in with my dukes up! Went to see that movie Enders Game some weeks ago. Brilliant movie but there were these four teenage boys sitting in front of us and I swear they were stoned and kept going outside to get more so. And one was working away on his ipod which put out lots of light. I leaned forward (my son freezing in his seat) and told him quietly but firmly to stop, he did. I'm not afraid to make a scene and I don't care who the offenders are. I'd make that note to the local paper or talk to the school to make a point that in future it is recommended parents leave their ipods at home or in their cars. If people want it recorded then surely one parent amongst the group has a video camera of some kind that can do the job for everyone. It is a basic and simple respect which teaches the kids in the community to develop the same awareness because they see their role models believe in it sort of thing.

That looks like an amazing job done by the kids! impressive. I love an Uno rant (who doesn't) ...they are good for the soul. Having personally participated in one or two of Fuzzy's rants I can tell you they too are most enjoyable. Look out snotty Dr. Wives you do not want to get into a battle of wits with Fuzzy...... she has conquered the cutting quip and mastered the snide comment! Looking at the pics it seems the room was meant to be totally dark.....the bright phone screens would interfere with the effect the kids were no doubt trying to achieve