Does iPhone Use at Work Make You an “iBore?”

4:52 pm, July 1st, 2009, Nicole Martinelli

CC-licensed picture by <a href= Halitosis and letting them see you sweat are so old school: the social paranoia du jour is gadgetiquette, especially the use of smartphones at work.

A survey of 2,000 UK 18-24 year olds found that at over half know an iBore, reports techradar, though less than 30% will admit to plaguing the rest of the populace with their Apple devices, iPhones in particular.

Annoying, apparently, is not in the hand of the beholder.

The NYT also recently ran a story on smartphone etiquette, opening with an anecdote about a client fiddling with his iPhone for the first half hour of a meeting:

Someone peeked over his shoulder. “He was playing a racing game,” Mr. Hobbs said. “He did ask questions, though, peering occasionally over his iPhone.”

But, Mr. Hobbs added, “We didn’t say anything. We still wanted the business.”

Having been on both sides of the boardroom/boredroom, it’s a tough call: there’s no point in competing with someone who’s thumbing away while you speak, but during the occasional stultifying soliloquy it’s nice to be able to firm up later plans for reinvigorating drinks.

What makes an iBore, exactly?

Posted by Nicole Martinelli in Humor, News, iPhone | Comment on this article

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About the author

Nicole Martinelli was born in San Francisco and has lived in Milan and Florence, Italy. Cultish tendencies and love for DIY increased while living on the Old Continent, where tech came late and cost more in Big Mac index terms. She's written for Wired.com, The New York Times and Newsweek. Since 1999, she's been tapping away at zoomata. You can also find her on Facebook, Linked in and Twitter.

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3 comments

[...] http://cultofmac.com/does-iphone-use-at-work-make-you-an-ibore/12441 [...]

applestories's status on Wednesday, 01-Jul-09 23:55:14 UTC - Identi.ca, on July 1st, 2009 at 4:55 pm

I don’t think of it as iBore. I think of it as iRude. If a client can’t stop playing games and discuss his project they are not serious. Run as fast as you can from clients like that. Do you think he will stop playing games when it comes time to pay your invoices? I doubt it.

PScott, on July 1st, 2009 at 5:37 pm

An iBore is anyone who will not shut up about how good their new phone is, and yes, it is good, I just got one, and I won’t shut up about it either. I can’t sleep, so I just wrote a 500 word blog post about how good it is. These people are hugely annoying when they’re not me…

In all seriousness though, people should learn some manners. To be playing games, or generally not giving someone your attention is the height rudeness and is just as bad whether it’s an iPhone or a book.

Matt, on July 1st, 2009 at 5:59 pm