These People Whip Out Their Phones In A Movie Theater. They Never Saw It Coming!

[PumpkinAle]

[SheilaT]

1. It looked like a good half of the movies goers

had a phone not turned off, and a lot of them weren't even on just the buzz.

But how in the world could a signal be sent to ring every phone? I was under the impression that you needed to dial specific numbers.

[JimDandy]

4. Clearly a different country, so possibly a different network setup?

Maybe Hong Kong allows private businesses to broadcast to any mobile device within their premises. Sort of like the grocery stores, google, or utility companies saying when you're on our premises (websites) you agree to give up your privacy and data while using our services.

ETA: this type of cell broadcasting (push) to devices withinin a specified geographical location can be switched off by the user.

[rhett o rick]

6. Looked like a complete set-up to me to make a point. nm

[AAO]

13. All actors. Guaranteed.

[Xithras]

8. This is actually possible just as they did it.

Cell phones transmit via RF, just like any other device. Your phones are constantly broadcasting their identity to nearby cellphone towers so that the towers will know where you are. When someone calls your cellphone, the signal for your phone isn't broadcast to every cell tower on the planet. It is broadcast to the last tower that you checked in at. Your phone has to keep checking in to keep that connection active.

In the beginning of the video, you can see the operators scanning local phone frequencies and apparently capturing the IMEI/IMSI numbers of the nearby active phones. The device they're using is called an IMSI Catcher (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMSI-catcher), and they're typically only used by law enforcement agencies when tracking phones. Once they have the identifiers from the phone, they can broadcast the alert signal (technically the "Short Message Alert", the first step in the SMS transfer process, which essentially just tells your phone that a message is waiting) with your IMSI embedded so that it routes to your handset. They're simply spoofing a cell tower and sending the first part of the SMS handshake to trick your phone into thinking that a message was waiting.

There would be no actual text data because your phone would fail to connect back for the SMS retrieval, but on a lot of handsets it can still set off the sms alert.

Back in the 1990's, when cellphones were first beginning to really become ubiquitous among the non-wealthy, this was a prank that some geek types liked to pull off now and then. With the right tech, you could set off every cellphone within a hundred yards. And then do it again, and again, and again until they got frustrated and shut them off.

It's COMPLETELY illegal to do this in the U.S., of course.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Best pre movie advert ever!

Now, shut those cellphones off.

[Hissyspit]

3. Wow. Those foolish people are dead or injured

because they just HAD to answer their phone while they were not driving.

[PumpkinAle]

5. But it shows how they are so indoctrinated to

answering the phones that they do it so automatically that if they were driving the results may well be they end up wrapped around the tree.

It doesn't hurt to try and get people's attention to things that are dangerous. It also doesn't hurt to remind people they shouldn't have their phones on in a cinema!

[2naSalit]

7. Good one

should be a recurring at unsuspected intervals in all theaters. Perhaps it will help people think about what they saw there.

[zappaman]

9. Fucking genius!

I'd also recommend Werner Herzog's shot doc...it's amazing, horrible, and gut wrenching.

&feature=kp

[PumpkinAle]

16. Thank you for posting

this - I couldn't make it all the way through - I will do so because as you said it is amazing, horrible and gut wrenching. And while so very powerful, it makes me cry to think how so many have lost their lives or being so affected by texting while driving.

May be it is because I am older, but I don't understand the need to let everyone know where I am every minute of the day.

[theHandpuppet]

29. Damn that was hard to watch

But I thank you for posting this. The message needs to be seen and heard!

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. Very very clever...n/t

[msongs]

11. we no longer spend $10+to sit in a theater and listen to cellholes. theaters don't care tho nt

[Logical]

17. Bullshit, I see a movie a week and maybe 1 in 20 has a phone go off. Nt

[kath]

18. Well, people in front of me have been texting or checking their phones in every single one of the

Last 5or6 movies I've gone too. That bright light in a dark theater is VERY annoying.

[Skittles]

31. I agree with you

I have to sit in the back because of my eyesight and it's so disturbing seeing those bright lights - WTF is wrong with people - if you cannot go a couple of hours without checking your phone, RENT a fucking movie

[WinkyDink]

21. LOVE your neologism! "Cellholes"! Bwahahaha!

[valerief]

12. Too bad there can't be laws against using cell phones while driving. nt

[3catwoman3]

15. There are...

...at least in NY (where I visit) and IL (where I live). The IL law is very new, and not many people seem to be heeding it. If one is involved in an accident with evidence that cell phone use was a contributing factor, jail time is possible.

[valerief]

19. Yeah, I know there are. I should have used the sarcasm tag.

There s/b federal laws, of course.

[3catwoman3]

23. My apologies. Not the first time...

...I have taken on-line statements at face value. I need to fine tune my subtlety-detector -

[valerief]

28. np :)

[Generic Brad]

14. Last week I heard a young guy brag that his generation invented texting and driving

He was trying to impress upon me that young people are better at multi tasking than old guys like me. As he said that the word "Asshat" echoed silently in my head. Texting and driving is not a skill to be proud of.

[valerief]

20. OMG, I agree. Uber-Asshat comes to my mind.

[WinkyDink]

22. Did he leave out part, like "invented texting and driving and then dying"?

[uponit7771]

24. 80% of car accidents are caused by eating while driving

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/eating-driving-80-car-accidents-study-shows-article-1.427796

[PumpkinAle]

25. It is still distracted driving......

WHAT IS DISTRACTED DRIVING?

Distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving. All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety. These types of distractions include:

Texting
Using a cell phone or smartphone
Eating and drinking
Talking to passengers
Grooming
Reading, including maps
Using a navigation system
Watching a video
Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player
But, because text messaging requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver, it is by far the most alarming distraction.

The best way to end distracted driving is to educate all Americans about the danger it poses. On this page, you'll find facts and statistics that are powerfully persuasive. If you don't already think distracted driving is a safety problem, please take a moment to learn more. And, as with everything on Distraction.gov, please share these facts with others. Together, we can help save lives.

http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html

[liberal N proud]

26. Good way to expose those who do not silence their phones too.

[marions ghost]

27. I guess everyone's heard about this crash,

but if not, it seems relevant:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/28/driver-dies-happy-song-facebook-_n_5223175.html

[theHandpuppet]

30. To folks who think it's okay to text and drive, I have a question

How would you feel if the school bus driver entrusted to take your kids back and forth to school felt it was okay to text while driving? Because I've seen it -- more than once. No problem, huh?