How do you deal with mobile phone addicts?

How do you deal with an adult friend who is on their phone the ENTIRE TIME you're out with them? To date, I have not confronted the situation, but I've grown increasingly annoyed with the rudeness and I'm not sure how to "tactfully" handle it. What I would love to say is, if you're going to spend the entire night on your phone, why don't you just stay home? Trust me, I'm not talking about someone who is just checking texts every hour or so, I'm talking full-on scrolling through Facebook, perusing photos and engaging in non-stop texting. It's ridiculous to me that they cannot put their phone away for 2 or 3 hours to be present. A few of us have sat there and made cracks about "people always on their phones" in this friend's presence (hoping the message would resonate) but it just does not resonate. I'd love to hear how others have confronted friends like this (other than to stop being social with them, which is already happening).

It's pretty simple really as there's nothing tactful about someone being rude by ignoring friends etc by using their smart phone. If they have no respect for others in their company, or for the occasion, then don't show them any in return. Deal with it how you would have dealt with rude people before phones came about no matter who they are or what their issues are.

Yeah - agree - Jeez! You couldn't get any RUDER (in that contextual setting)! I had a new-friend-to-be do that to me each time. Third time (proving Pervasive attitude behind it), I smiled and drawled, 'I'm going to scoot off now because you're obviously too busy having virtual friendships to value a real one, but, have a nice life', and that was it. I didn't wait for a reply. You're already all 'voting with your feet', anyway (which is the natural consequence). Methinks it's just a slower process than you'd expected? Because, she needs a harder slap round the face than a soft peeling away? It's just a delayed impact, that's all. It'll hit her once she notices there's only one left (or no-one left) to shuffle away. And if it doesn't? If she doesn't 'replay all the tapes' in her head and stumble upon the many memories of you lot's pointed comments, and put 2 and 2 together, and come back to apologise? You've dodged a bullet because there was worse behaviour than that waiting to be bit-by-bit released, finally, you betcha. Whatever her type gets away with (or can choose to ignore a consequence as mild as, merely hinting) - they'll not only do again, but do it BIGGER/HARDER/MORE FREQUENTLY or something new but WORSE than before. If it were me, I'd say: Can you leave, please?...You're clearly not enjoying yourself - all you're doing this whole time - yet again - is being very insulting to every single one of us, and what's worse, seem to be completely clueless about the effect you'd obviously be having. Or make the hints heavier if you're not used to being that blunt: You: When's the wedding? Her: Huh? You (motioning your head at it): You and Moby Dick there? Yeah, so...I'm with Manalone. Don't be polite back to rude a-holes.

Hahahaha - that is great! To your point about, "Can you leave, please?", I have decided that next time we all go out, I'm going to suggest to her that we meet at said location instead of driving together. She usually drives to my house, grabs her things and locks her car (the expectation is that I will drive). I'm going to tell her that it's probably best that we meet instead, just in case she gets bored and wants to leave. Presuming she wants to know why I would say that, I plan to tell her that the excessive phone time sends the message that she'd rather be elsewhere. She drove with me and another friend to a party back in August. Prior to our departure, we told her it was going to be a late night, so if she didn't want to stay out late, she should probably take her own car. She insisted she would be fine and went with us. Fast forward to 1 am. Beautiful summer night, group of people sitting at a patio laughing, and she was scrolling through Facebook. Then she asked my friend if he'd give her a ride back to my house to get her car. I rest my case. :-(

Oh, I didn't realise you'd posted again on here - because you created a new thread! Okie-dokes, I'll read and reply to this one as well, this weekend. But I'll also paste and copy the whole contents into your new one (because it's useful extra intel as furthers more comprehensive understanding of the extent of the woman's (deliberate, provocative) blinkeredness and rudeness), and then provide a link so that you've only the one thread/'evidence table'. PS: "Spit-spot", haha!

Thank you, and she's getting worse and worse with each passing day. She just returned to our gym after HER two week "maternity leave" (daughter had the baby) and after enduring non-stop ramblings of mundane details about diaper excursions and all the things SHE has to do (because her ADULT daughter and ADULT son-in-law apparently can't), I switched my hours at the gym to avoid her. I just can't take another second of this. I can't.

Some friends just arent friends .... sorry but sometimes you got to know when to walk away

The truth is, she's a kind person but the woman exists in a bubble and has no self-awareness. I've begun putting distance between us and making sure all future outings include a larger group of people. That way, the second I hear her daughter's name or see her texting, I can turn and talk to someone else. I've tried the subtle comments - made cracks about how "people on their phones" when they go out are rude and annoying. She agrees with me and then, BOOM - whips out her phone. Apparently in her mind, her phone use is different - she has to check in with her adult, married daughter every 10 minutes because she might be needed. And then she feels compelled to provide the rest of us an immediate daughter update. Not to mention, she repeats herself constantly and that has become another sticking point. She tells me about the same things over and over and over - sometimes within the same few hours. In the last week alone, she told me 4 times that she had to take her son-in-law somewhere. It took everything in my being not to say, "I heard you the first 17 times and I still don't care" but I just can't be that mean. What she doesn't realize is, no one cares - this isn't "BREAKING NEWS" or even conversation material. What does she want people to say? And she'll just ............. keep ................. repeating it. After repeatedly hearing the same stories about her daughter's contractions/labor, how she had to watch her grandchild while his mom was giving birth and giving the son-in-law ONE ride - over and over and over and over - I am now at the gym alone, and it's wonderful. Maybe one day she'll get her own identity and find some interests, but until then, I have more important things to focus on.

Click here to continue on Philameena's main thread, which she replaced this one with... https://www.peoplesproblems.org/showtopic/13957/widowed-friend-obsessed-with-daughters-life