6 ms·

I would guess some of them are doing actual work on their phones while sitting around pretending to listen to something they already read and some of them are g

I would guess some of them are doing actual work on their phones while sitting around pretending to listen to something they already read and some of them are goofing off. Just being on their phone isn't enough to determine that they're not working.

ape4 5y ago
Yes in the past they might be reading reports on paper
dylan604 5y ago
I think you are being overly kind to them, which you would think their postions would afford them. However, I live in the real world and believe that they are not doing what you are suggesting. I'm personally more inclined to believe they are scrolling social media. They are humans, and we have all become accustomed to pulling out that device the split second we become bored. If the person speaking is in the opposition party, then you're also probably doing it as a bit of show to say you don't care anything about their ideas. We all do this without thinking about it, but I wouldn't put it past this being done on purpose. Maybe I'm too pessimistic, but I no longer think politicians deserve the benefit of the doubt and one should always be wondering what the ulterior motives of any of their actions are.
saurik 5y ago
Exactly: as a politician myself, it is extremely common for me to be frantically adjusting the notes on my phone for what I intend to say based on what I am hearing other people say and what I am finding online or quickly fact checking with my various connections. (And also: I am more than capable of zoning out without a phone, thank you very much ;P.)
- 6510 5y ago
  Live in the moment, one thing at a time. You should be listening. The logic is simple, when it is your turn to speak people should also listen. Currently they are frantically adjusting their talking points in stead. What does it even matter what anyone says at that point? Or even more hilarious: At the moment the only media attention these politicians get is about their excessive phone use. What they are going to say when it is their turn to talk I have no idea.
  - concordDance 5y ago
    The point of a parliamentary session is for the general public. All the real meaty discussion takes place outside parliament. This is mostly down to the low amount if time your average member of the public has for politics giving the news media enormous power over narrative (particularly out of context quoting), which requires the public stuff to be kayfabe.
    - saurik 5y ago
      FWIW, while I appreciate that federal government is pretty broken, it is worth at least understanding that that isn't always how it works, or really even how it is supposed to work at the federal level either: at my level of government, for example, if "all the real meaty discussion takes place outside", that is actually illegal, due to California's Brown Act, which enforces open government transparency; the premise is that all meetings must take place in the public so the public can know the how and why behind decisions, and the public must even be able to interact with the meeting.
    - 6510 5y ago
      > The point of a parliamentary session is for the general public. You fail basic etiquette.
  - saurik 5y ago
    To be equivalently (ok, maybe just a bit more) blunt back to you: if you (as another person who will be speaking after me) care so little about what I am saying when I am speaking that you aren't fact checking what I am claiming and taking notes while adjusting your own talking points, what the hell are you even doing? Hell: what am I even doing at that point? Isn't the goal of this entire exercise wherein we all came together to have a massive meeting that we are supposed to be talking--even "sparring"--with each other in an attempt to find the truth? Your quaint concept of what it means to "listen" to someone else is just extremely strange to me... (though maybe a bit less strange as your final sentence makes it sound like you don't even care what people say anyway).
- fighterpilot 5y ago
  Why don't you use a laptop for that? Are they not allowed in the chamber, but phones are?
  - saurik 5y ago
    I tend to use my phone because tapping on the screen doesn't cause as much noise as typing, the communication apps I might be using to talk to people make more sense tend to be better designed to quickly operate on phones, and it is much easier to take my phone--with the notes I was writing--with me to a speaking podium than my laptop. That all said: you are saying it is somehow different to you if someone spends their time staring at a laptop, but not a phone? The real response that seems important here is "this is the future: phones are the new laptop"; I typed this comment and my prior comment on my phone, as I tend to do all my comments... what are you still using laptops for?
    - fighterpilot 5y ago
      I find small laptops more productive for work than a phone, because I can type 2-3x faster.
  - mikub 5y ago
    As far as I know for the german Bundestag, you can use your phone or tablet, but no laptops allowed.
- chris_wot 5y ago
  Better than falling asleep I guess.

ape4 5y ago

Yes in the past they might be reading reports on paper

dylan604 5y ago

I think you are being overly kind to them, which you would think their postions would afford them. However, I live in the real world and believe that they are not doing what you are suggesting. I'm personally more inclined to believe they are scrolling social media. They are humans, and we have all become accustomed to pulling out that device the split second we become bored. If the person speaking is in the opposition party, then you're also probably doing it as a bit of show to say you don't care anything about their ideas. We all do this without thinking about it, but I wouldn't put it past this being done on purpose. Maybe I'm too pessimistic, but I no longer think politicians deserve the benefit of the doubt and one should always be wondering what the ulterior motives of any of their actions are.

saurik 5y ago

Exactly: as a politician myself, it is extremely common for me to be frantically adjusting the notes on my phone for what I intend to say based on what I am hearing other people say and what I am finding online or quickly fact checking with my various connections. (And also: I am more than capable of zoning out without a phone, thank you very much ;P.)

6510 5y ago
Live in the moment, one thing at a time. You should be listening. The logic is simple, when it is your turn to speak people should also listen. Currently they are frantically adjusting their talking points in stead. What does it even matter what anyone says at that point? Or even more hilarious: At the moment the only media attention these politicians get is about their excessive phone use. What they are going to say when it is their turn to talk I have no idea.
- concordDance 5y ago
  The point of a parliamentary session is for the general public. All the real meaty discussion takes place outside parliament. This is mostly down to the low amount if time your average member of the public has for politics giving the news media enormous power over narrative (particularly out of context quoting), which requires the public stuff to be kayfabe.
  - saurik 5y ago
    FWIW, while I appreciate that federal government is pretty broken, it is worth at least understanding that that isn't always how it works, or really even how it is supposed to work at the federal level either: at my level of government, for example, if "all the real meaty discussion takes place outside", that is actually illegal, due to California's Brown Act, which enforces open government transparency; the premise is that all meetings must take place in the public so the public can know the how and why behind decisions, and the public must even be able to interact with the meeting.
  - 6510 5y ago
    > The point of a parliamentary session is for the general public. You fail basic etiquette.
- saurik 5y ago
  To be equivalently (ok, maybe just a bit more) blunt back to you: if you (as another person who will be speaking after me) care so little about what I am saying when I am speaking that you aren't fact checking what I am claiming and taking notes while adjusting your own talking points, what the hell are you even doing? Hell: what am I even doing at that point? Isn't the goal of this entire exercise wherein we all came together to have a massive meeting that we are supposed to be talking--even "sparring"--with each other in an attempt to find the truth? Your quaint concept of what it means to "listen" to someone else is just extremely strange to me... (though maybe a bit less strange as your final sentence makes it sound like you don't even care what people say anyway).
fighterpilot 5y ago
Why don't you use a laptop for that? Are they not allowed in the chamber, but phones are?
- saurik 5y ago
  I tend to use my phone because tapping on the screen doesn't cause as much noise as typing, the communication apps I might be using to talk to people make more sense tend to be better designed to quickly operate on phones, and it is much easier to take my phone--with the notes I was writing--with me to a speaking podium than my laptop. That all said: you are saying it is somehow different to you if someone spends their time staring at a laptop, but not a phone? The real response that seems important here is "this is the future: phones are the new laptop"; I typed this comment and my prior comment on my phone, as I tend to do all my comments... what are you still using laptops for?
  - fighterpilot 5y ago
    I find small laptops more productive for work than a phone, because I can type 2-3x faster.
- mikub 5y ago
  As far as I know for the german Bundestag, you can use your phone or tablet, but no laptops allowed.
chris_wot 5y ago
Better than falling asleep I guess.