iPhone Etiquette

I found it absolutely distracting to carry on a conversation to the beeps and shrieks at the next table. The group of 5 + 3 young children was obviously done with dessert and were lingering over dunno-what because there was no other food items or drinks that arrived in the next 15 minutes. They all had their noses buried in their iPhones and iPads which made alot of sounds. They were playing games. I didn't really understand the fun, but I guess these people were rather entertained. I suppose that no matter the age, iPhone games are quite cool, especially for this group of humans in their late twenties to mid-thirties. In contrast, their young children were playing with little toys on their highchairs.

I caught other patrons shoot irritated looks at that gaming table. After 15 minutes, the electronic sounds continued and no one did anything. The servers' request to them to lower the volume of their phone didn't seem to work. I could tolerate loud laughter and conversation. But I would not stand for continued electronic annoyance to the ears. I apologized to my table, gently stood up and took 3 steps to the next table that was still merrily chuckling away to a cacophony of beeps, bells and whatnots emanating from their handhelds.

I bent over and whispered my thoughts aloud. Obviously they couldn't hear me well. They were so unfriendly. They looked up once and then went back to their phones. They did ask, 'What?!"

So I raised my voice, "YOU LOOK EDUCATED. WHEN YOU'RE PLAYING GAMES, WOULD YOU PLEASE SWITCH TO THE SILENT MODE ON YOUR IPHONES? I GET HEART PALPITATIONS FROM THE SOUNDS. SORRY I'M NOT VERY CULTURED. AM I TOO SOFT? SHOULD I SPEAK LOUDER?"

The group left rather quickly after that. They called me 'bitch'. I'm not bothered. They did as they were told. I had peace for the rest of my meal and enjoyed the bottle of Krug in relative serenity amidst the usual hum of a restaurant.