Harry Potter and the Deathly Ringtone

Liz and I went to see the final Harry Potter movie, and I actually had a good time. I wasn’t worried about the movie (I figured it’d be good, and it was). Honestly, I had more concerns about actually going to the movie theater to see a movie. Invariably, I always get the seat in front of the kid who has spastic legs and likes to kick chairs.

Amazingly, surprisingly, the audience was actually well behaved. Not a lot of folks talking, and everyone was pretty wrapped up in the movie the whole time.

The one major incident was that someone’s phone went off (it was the people next to me, about two seats away). The ringtone was obnoxiously loud and sounded like a circus orchestra having a heart attack. The thing was buried inside the guy’s backpack, and even under a ton of stuff you could hear it throughout the theater. Of course, once he actually dug the thing out, it was even louder.

I’d say it was a solid 30 seconds, and it was jarring enough that I actually had a hard time picking up what was going on in the movie. Annoying, but what are you going to do? Part of the gamble you take, when going to the movies. I figured – fine, cellphone accidentally left on, honest mistake. Horrible ringtone, but there’s no accounting for taste.

Fast forward to the end of the movie. When the credits started rolling and the lights went up, I was able to see the people sitting next to me. It was a father who had taken his son to the movies. The kid was young, maybe third or fourth grade. He had on a cape, and was holding a small stick the length of two pencils (it was his wand).

It took me a moment, but I put it together that the obnoxious cellphone ringtone belonged to this kid. The young child, dressed up like a wizard. It was his phone that had gone off.

I guess phones are becoming more and more ubiquitous, but I’m still shocked when I see young kids with phones. Perhaps technology is progressing to a point where it matters, less and less. Once upon a time only the wealthiest families had computers… and nowadays, they’re more and more commonplace. Maybe it’s becoming that way with phones, too.

But you know what? If you’re going to give a cellphone to your third grader, you’d better be teaching them about phone etiquette. Especially when you both are going out to the movies.

Parents, these days. I tell ya.

[CC photo via SeymourSolo]

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