[moonshinefe]

It's been a problem since smartphones became widespread and people got addicted to them. And quite frankly the theater workers don't get paid enough to enforce the rules.

Just one of many reasons going to movies isn't really worth it anymore, unless you're really in the mindset you want to go and having lights shining / jostling around in your peripheral vision won't annoy you.

[sumtechguy]

Yeah for any movies where that happened usually the people around them doing it corrected the behavior. One movie ages ago when cell was sort of new a dude just flipped the bad boy open and bragged about how he was at a movie and talking on the phone openly. The rain of popcorn and m&m's shut him down fairly quickly. 'dude turn it off' 'whatever' candy rain. Sort of sucked for me as I was a couple of rows in front of the guy and everyone's aim was not exact. That was almost 20 years ago.