Last night I went to a nice restaurant on a date. I’m not typically the person who prefers the higher end affairs, but I’ve been in a good mood lately, so I figured what the heck. Sometimes it’s worth it.
My mood changed immediately when I noticed a larger table across the way, where there was a decent sized group, a mixture of men and women. The women were very attractive, seemed to be having a good time, and dominated conversation. It was rather loud, but the actions that came later were what really drove me crazy.
Three people were documenting this via video or photo. Two were standing up, and the one person sitting down was taking photo or video at the same viewpoint as another girl standing up. All cameras were focused on one of the women and the man sitting next to him, having a conversation of some sort. It looked as though the paparazzi had descended to film some sort of celebrity dining, except I have no idea who the heck these people were. All I saw were a few rude women who couldn’t care less about what was happening around them, all in the name of selfishly documenting their ordinary dinner. The best I could compare it to would be the looks that people on the train form when they see someone talking on their cell phone. It’s a hybrid face, something that has equal parts befuddlement, incredulousness, and Peyton Manning in a big game.
Okay, so the above story didn’t happen to me. I wasn’t at the restaurant, but those women were. And when I saw that it happened, I’m sure my face resembled the faces of those who get annoyed by cell phone overusers.
Let me get this straight. We’ve got these girls who are obsessive about documenting their existence online, to the point of foregoing normal human interaction for the sake of cultivating an image that most people don’t believe in anyway. They admit a desire to improve their life and learn how to make things better around them, but self-respecting humans don’t do this crap. It’s rude, and the only people who care are the ones who slow down for car crashes. So please, don’t do it. The waiter who has been kissing your asses all night won’t bother to tell you that you’re causing an unnecessary scene, but hopefully someone with some balls will.
It’s the same reason people get dirty looks when they’re walking down the street with a camera pointed directly at their face, with iPod earpieces in and - the worst part - singing into the camera. Multitasking my ass, nobody cares that you can do it all and see where you’re going. They’re still going to worry that you’re going to either bump into them, knock over a hot dog cart, or kick somebody’s puppy. So again, I implore you, this is not a good idea. For anyone.
street dubbers beware, the fat manatee has spoken.