I've experienced jerks answering ringing phones twice in my cinema experience over the last fifteen years. However, the REAL problem is that obnoxious individual on the row in front of me (stadium seating) with the brightness all the way up checking texts every few minutes with the screen pointed right back at me. I don't need to keep you from your messages, I'd just like you to turn the screen down please!

Thought every time I go to the theater how awesome it is if they'd designate back few rows as device-ok zone, where people are allowed to text, browse, with their devices, as long as they keep it quiet. Might attract some of solo-movie goers... (Though this is coming from the kind of person who look things up like background info and other random information while watching movie on Netflix, just I don't know how common this type of movie watching is.)

Interesting idea.. I tend to do the same thing when watching stuff at home, where I can pause and/or jump back a few minites if I'm distracted... less so with others around me... I also tend to ignore messages, and not answer my phone when I'm out with someone else... I think it's rude. Then again, I grew up in an era where you had to go home to make a phone call.

I see a great device model to handle this. It monitors the audience and when some jerk brings out their phone a set of high powered stage lights zeros in on them and blinds them. Hehe, I'm dreaming of course.