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Cell Phones, Daily News Columnists Equally Annoying
By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 28, 2010
Modified Oct 28, 2010
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 28, 2010
Modified Oct 28, 2010
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Just as cops block bike lanes every morning and man still refuses to ask for directions, so too will people yakking loudly on cell phones forever annoy us. And so too will obligatory articles about how cell phones annoy us annoy us. It might not stop us from demanding we get reception on the subway, but we always find new ways to study and criticize other people's cell phone etiquette.
Zagat released the newest edition of their annual dining guide earlier this month, but yesterday released the Zagat Survey, in which they shockingly found that 63 percent of Americans get annoyed at people who make calls or send texts during a meal. And some 34 percent of those polled say they have sat next to other diners who were talking so loudly, they've asked to be moved. But did they ask what percent of New Yorkers have used their cell phones to save their lives?
And at least cell phone talkers are pretty transparent in their misdeeds, and easily shamed for their lack of social graces. It seems much more insidious to us that at any moment, a Daily News columnist could be stalking you, peering over your shoulder, and listening in on your conversation. It's one thing to post on "Overheard in New York," and it's a whole other kind of irritating to devote a whole article to actively trying to listen in on other people's conversations, as Joanna Molloy did today. The again, the guy was screaming into his phone, "WELL DO YOU HAVE THE MONEY OR NOT? THE QUESTION IS: DO YOU HAVE THE MONEY!!"
Some other results from the survey: In 2010, the average cost of a New York meal was $41.76—only Las Vegas was higher. And 52 percent of meals in NY are takeout, more than anywhere else in the country. Just be careful what you say: your delivery man may actually be a reporter in disguise!
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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