Not a cell phone user or an owner of one, but would like an honest answer............

[Different Socks]

Everywhere I go it seems as if people are addicted to their cell phones. At work tonight we got into a heated debate about why there exists the necessity, habit, obligation to check your messages or read the the latest text or make a call.
So I told several of them how annoyed I would be if a hiker/backpacker had one too often in their hands or to their ear and I was anywhere nearby. And I offered to get some hiking audience feedback.
So, on the AT, to what degree would you allow yourself to get to before becoming annoyed or bothered by someone using their cell phone? What would be considered too often? Would once every night be okay? Would you ask them to step away from the campsite/shelter? Would you consider then to be rude if they did indeed use it too often? Ya know, like taking it out at viewpoints to call people and say "Guess where I am?".

My view of this situation is this: I don't care if you bring a cell, but don't carry it so there is convenient access. Don't pull it out at viewpoints, river crossings, animal sightings(except rare ones), every rest stop, on boring sections of trail, during long bouts of bad weather, at your campsite/shelter, and please don't look at it every hour just to see if anyone has tried to contact you. There are good reasons why you are out there, and one of the strongest was to get away from phones!!
Would I carry one on the trail? Yes, for safety, the ability to call a PO if I am running behind, to call my pick up at a road crossing, or to order that pizza at the Partnership Shelter. Other than that, it stays in the bottom of my pack.

So please, give me your honest and forthright answer to this.

[Kryptonite]

You have asked for us to be brutally honest here, my friend. By your own admission, you are the one who is out of sync here in that almost everyone has a cell phone. Do I think that others should be pulling it out in shelters or camp? No. But certainly there should be no problem if they step away from the camp. But I can think of a lot more rude actions on the trail than this.

You need to realize that many people are using their phones as cameras, getting weather updates, running a business, staying in touch with a grandchild, handling problems at home when the waterline freezes, etc. Some hikers want to share great views with their families and will send a picture to their wife and then call. It's a way to stay connected. It is a HYOH atmosphere and some people would not think twice about parties with booze and weed at camp or in the shelters or church groups giving sermons. In the whole scheme of everything, a cell phone shouldn't be a big deal. If it is, don't hike with a group or stay in a shelter or camp. Problem virtually solved.

[silverscuba22]

Well, i have a basic phone, not one of those fancy 4g, smart phone things.... and i would call home and what not at night.. as long as the person wasnt talking loud at all hours of the night i wouldnt think it was an issue.... and there is NO way you could ask them to leave unless the were being really really loud. i never had an issue becuase i always tented, so if someone was being rude with the phone i could always get away to my own personal space, but i never saw it as an issue

[MuddyWaters]

Ive found most people step away to make calls, which I appreciate.

I dont have to worry about it because I dont get

I am very put off by people that keep theirs in their hand all the time. At my kids football practice, parents lined up in chairs, most have a phone in their hand like a teenage girl. Granted, they are bored, but really, bring a book. In airports, EVERYONE does. Its unbelievable, they also have to stay plugged in to recharge. I find it quite pathetic. I also find it repulsive to have to listen to their conversations there.

[moocow]

i don't think i mind it as long as they have it on vibrate or silence. I will admit it was really annoying to hear a ringer go off just down the ridge when I thought I was alone. But that's only happened a few times. I respect people's rights to use their phones as their modern day camera, maps/gps, guide book all-in-one unit. and if they're looking down and see that someone sent a message and they want to reply, see what I care. But if I'm at a shelter and someone is yaking away or I wake up because the early bird decided that they wanted to use their phone as a 4:30 wake up call, that's my fault for seeking peace and solitude at a public place.

[SCRUB HIKER]

You have asked for us to be brutally honest here, my friend. By your own admission, you are the one who is out of sync here in that almost everyone has a cell phone. Do I think that others should be pulling it out in shelters or camp? No. But certainly there should be no problem if they step away from the camp. But I can think of a lot more rude actions on the trail than this.

You need to realize that many people are using their phones as cameras, getting weather updates, running a business, staying in touch with a grandchild, handling problems at home when the waterline freezes, etc. Some hikers want to share great views with their families and will send a picture to their wife and then call. It's a way to stay connected. It is a HYOH atmosphere and some people would not think twice about parties with booze and weed at camp or in the shelters or church groups giving sermons. In the whole scheme of everything, a cell phone shouldn't be a big deal. If it is, don't hike with a group or stay in a shelter or camp. Problem virtually solved.

Couldn't say it better myself. Last year I carried a dumphone, a point-and-shoot digital camera, and an iPod. Now I have a smartphone and now when I go on hikes (and especially when I try the PCT next year), I'm going to be carrying that smartphone and using the bejaysus out of it because it combines all three functions. It saves me a pound in pack weight. I could have it out and on at a viewpoint for any number of reasons. It's always in my hipbelt pocket.

The OP says: "There are good reasons why you are out there, and one of the strongest was to get away from phones!!" Not true. That's YOUR hike, not mine. People have different reasons for going on hikes. On a long-distance trail, especially the AT, most people aren't out there with the explicit goal of removing themselves from society. Sometimes people get lonely. Sometimes you do what you gotta do to keep loved ones happy. I hiked with a guy for a while last year who called his girlfriend every night that he had cell service (we were in the Mid-Atlantic, so that was every night). They talked for two or three minutes about their days, said I love you and that was it. My girlfriend and I only needed to talk once a week to keep each other happy, but what was I going to say to my friend? "Stop using your cell phone so d--- much, you don't need it"? Of course not. That would be pretty presumptuous of me.

Roughly the same cell phone etiquette from town life applies on trail: namely, don't talk loudly into your phone around other people. Remove yourself or cut off the convo in those situations. All other issues of cell phone usage--how often and for what purpose--are entirely up to the individual, and I fail to see why/how they should matter to anyone else.

Different Socks, you're quite an outlier by now if you still don't own a cell phone. It's completely fine with me that you don't (I have a friend, 24 years old like me, who didn't have one until a year ago), but it doesn't sound like you understand them very well. The mere sight of them in the woods disrupts you--as opposed to me, where I don't even notice them until someone is using one in a pretty inconsiderate manner. I think that, basically, you should get used to seeing cell phones out and in use, and not trouble yourself with how other people are using them. If you find that you can't overcome your own annoyance at their presence--and I'd be lying if I said there weren't harmless things about other people that really grate on me for no reason--then choose new places to camp and hike. Better for everyone that way.

[WingedMonkey]

It comes down to manners. If I can hear you talkng or your ring tone, you ain't got none.

[Maddog]

Everywhere I go it seems as if people are addicted to their cell phones. At work tonight we got into a heated debate about why there exists the necessity, habit, obligation to check your messages or read the the latest text or make a call.
So I told several of them how annoyed I would be if a hiker/backpacker had one too often in their hands or to their ear and I was anywhere nearby. And I offered to get some hiking audience feedback.
So, on the AT, to what degree would you allow yourself to get to before becoming annoyed or bothered by someone using their cell phone? What would be considered too often? Would once every night be okay? Would you ask them to step away from the campsite/shelter? Would you consider then to be rude if they did indeed use it too often? Ya know, like taking it out at viewpoints to call people and say "Guess where I am?".

My view of this situation is this: I don't care if you bring a cell, but don't carry it so there is convenient access. Don't pull it out at viewpoints, river crossings, animal sightings(except rare ones), every rest stop, on boring sections of trail, during long bouts of bad weather, at your campsite/shelter, and please don't look at it every hour just to see if anyone has tried to contact you. There are good reasons why you are out there, and one of the strongest was to get away from phones!!
Would I carry one on the trail? Yes, for safety, the ability to call a PO if I am running behind, to call my pick up at a road crossing, or to order that pizza at the Partnership Shelter. Other than that, it stays in the bottom of my pack.

So please, give me your honest and forthright answer to this.

"Hahk your own hahk." - Ron Haven

[Old Hiker]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomophobia

http://www.nomophobia.com/

[moytoy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomophobia

http://www.nomophobia.com/

Hiking long distance may become the first step to resolve this problem. To me hiking is all about being independant.

Sometimes it's necessary to make or receive a phone call in public. If possible I think it's good manners to move to someplace more private to finish the conversation. If not possible to move then the conversation should be concise and to the point and low key.

On the trail the same rules should apply. Nobody wants to hear chatty matty talking to his pals. If somebody wants to use there smartphone to journel or check e-mail etc. that doesn't bother me. I can easily block that out.

[moytoy]

there>their yada yada

[Spokes]

What's the difference between this discussion about cell phone use in shelters and say others snoring? Would you ask them to leave? Some people don't like to see others cook inside a shelter...... The list goes on and on.

I say if being around other hikers is that frustrating stay at home and watch the Housewives of Orange County.

[gunner76]

Some people are addicted to them, like chewing gum, smoking, hiking

[coach lou]

I've never read Mr. Kazynski's Manifesto, but I have been to Lincoln , Montana. I'm not sure if they have service. The last few years, I've had service all over Jellystone! If I wasn't married [again] I wouldn't take it with me.

[moytoy]

What's the difference between this discussion about cell phone use in shelters and say others snoring? Would you ask them to leave? Some people don't like to see others cook inside a shelter...... The list goes on and on.

Being confrontational over something like talking on a cell phone is just as rude if not more so than the talking. And will not resolve anything. IMHO
It's not an issue with me because I always have the ability to move on.

[Nutbrown]

It comes down to manners. If I can hear you talkng or your ring tone, you ain't got none.

So do you think hikers having a conversation that you can hear is bad manners?

Cell phones are a fact of life, on and off the trail. Most cell users I have encountered respect the silence when it should be respected.

I have heard that local gov'ts are trying to ban things like walking and txting because too many people are walking in front of buses or into scaffolding and getting hurt. Wonder when the first person will accidentally walk off a cliff because they were txting about how beautiful it is...

[WingedMonkey]

So do you think hikers having a conversation that you can hear is bad manners?

Yes, if it as loud. Despite what most cell phone addicts claim, they do do talk in normal levels on phones.

All loud noise in the woods is rude. Actually about anywhere.

[Spokes]

......
All loud noise in the woods is rude. Actually about anywhere.

It's all relevant.

I don't consider the sound of the rocket engine that launched the Mars Curiosity Rover rude. Or, the whooping and hollering of someone reaching the summit of Mt. Katahdin rude. It got pretty loud up there when I was there. And I was trying to take a nap before heading back down too.

[moldy]

Cell phone annoyance is not much of a problem on the trail. I suppose the lack of signal and battery is what keeps the people who are addicted communicators from yaking on it all day. They also tend to use them for outgoing calls so it's rare to hear one go off. It's a quality of life as well as a security issue to have a phone. I have noticed that phoneless long distance hikers tend to borrow my phone. I view the phone as a handy tool like a compass or guidebook. Back 35 years ago I, and many others tended to be highly annoyed with transistor radios in shelters. There were signs posted in shelters telling people with those new fangled radios to be considerate. Dude you need to get a cell phone, join with the collective, resistance is futile. (so say's the Borg)

[Pedaling Fool]

So do you think hikers having a conversation that you can hear is bad manners?

Cell phones are a fact of life, on and off the trail. Most cell users I have encountered respect the silence when it should be respected.

I have heard that local gov'ts are trying to ban things like walking and txting because too many people are walking in front of buses or into scaffolding and getting hurt. Wonder when the first person will accidentally walk off a cliff because they were txting about how beautiful it is...

Yes, if it as loud. Despite what most cell phone addicts claim, they do do talk in normal levels on phones.

All loud noise in the woods is rude. Actually about anywhere.

I kind of see both of your posts. On one level people sitting around talking is ok, but someone talking on a phone is annoying. I generally agree that people talk a little louder on the phone, but then again there are people that are just loud and talk loud, even with people right next to them.

I've found that people talking on the cell in public use to really bother people, but it doesn't anymore. I remember it use to catch my attention, but not really anymore.

It still bothers me out in the woods, but what ya goin' to do? It's not illegal and there is no enforcement of etiquette. Yeah, you can try, but this is something that ain't going away. Technology changes our behavior, both on a personal level and as a cultural. Us old fuddy duddies just need to step aside and allow the new blood to take over.

I like technology, but I'm kind of old fashioned about it out in the woods. But there ain't no goin' back, the woods are changin'; nothing we can do about it.