Head down, nose to the phone

[Baas Babelaas]

You've seen it a 1000 times before - someone walking, perhaps riding a bike or scooter with their full attention on their phone in their hand, completely oblivious to the world around them.

They're either self-centred, addicted to their phone (due to an overwhelmingly desperately empty life outside of it), or engaged in a must-read message/game of Angry Birds at that point.

You've seen them, because your head is NOT up your ass, and you do assess your surroundings periodically, especially in a very full place like Taiwan or China.

They're on a crash course collision with you.

Do you:
A - step aside to let them walk/ride/drive past, nose to the phone
B - yell out a "whoop whoop" to pull them out of their world, and let them know you're coming the other way
C - hold your line, and let them crash into you (human on human, I'm 87kg, works a treat if/when I do it)

My friend reckons that they're working on the theory of 'if I haven't seen it, I don't need to acknowledge it, therefor it doesn't exist', and we as the see-ers 'have seen and acknowledged, thus must move'.

Your take?

[TheGingerMan]

Warning blaze across their front upon visual contact.
Hostile glance & the odd audio message upon pass by.
Good luck to all those in their path.

[Confuzius]

If I am walking, let them crash right into me...actually brace for impact and give just the slightest bodily shove in their direction.

If they are on a bike or scooter, do my best to get their attention at the VERY last minute...but when I have already placed myself somehow where they will almost definitely wipe out from having to over correct at the very last second (serves them right).

[Petrichor]

At 5' 2" and 50kgs (okay, maybe nearer 55) I get the hell out of the way.

I can never figure out what people find to talk about so much.

[Teddoman]

Awesome Seinfeld observation, I've had it myself but never actually heard anyone talk about it before.

Even worse than this is when a couple, or a parent and kids, willfully uses the entire width of a narrow (American-size) sidewalk, despite seeing you far in advance. They just keep taking up the entire width of it and forcing both of you into a standoff situation. They usually wait until the very last minute to make the slightest move to the side to barely make way. When a far more socially acceptable approach would be for them to get into single file when passing you.

Usually I just stop and wait for them to pass me, but in my mind I'm always thinking about how ill mannered and anti-social that is to make someone stop.

[Baas Babelaas]

Pure self-centredness?

[jimipresley]

Awesome Seinfeld observation

Bourgeois nonsense. Do people REALLY still watch rich, Jewish people in America, in banal sitcoms, running around like clowns?

I despair.

[merge]

Awesome Seinfeld observation

Bourgeois nonsense. Do people REALLY still watch rich, Jewish people in America, in banal sitcoms, running around like clowns?

I despair.

Hijacking a thread before 9:30 am...

Pure self-centredness?

[jimipresley]

Hijacking a thread before 9:30 am...

The incorrect use of ellipses before 9:30 AM? Horrifying!

[merge]

Hijacking a thread before 9:30 am...

The incorrect use of ellipses before 9:30 AM? Horrifying!

Grammar correction as self-defense? Desperate!