Cell Phone Use On Planes

I just finished reading this article which discusses the possibility of cell phone use during flights.

Part of me says, "Why not?" Sure, it's an annoyance to have someone chattering away on their phone, but it is equally annoying to have someone listening to loud music, talking incessantly to their neighbors, asking you every half hour if they can get by you, or snoring noisily throughout the night. Oh, and then there's my personal favorite - a kicking, screaming child in the seat behind you. What's another conversation added to the mix?

Though I think cell phones pose little threat of increasing the already annoying, uncomfortable atmosphere of airplanes, I don't think people should be allowed to talk on them anyhow. It's not because I hate one sided conversations or just like to make everyone miserable, but rather I just think people these days are entirely too attached to technology (myself included). While chatter on a phone doesn't bother me, it may bother other people and, quite frankly, we should all be able to have a mini vacation from our electronic devices and revel in the peace and quiet.

In the middle of the article the HANG-UP act is mentioned which would allow texting and internet but not calls on a cell phone. I think this is a good middle ground, and I personally would enjoy texting and other quiet phone operations as possible distraction on long flights. A gold star goes to Congress for remembering back to kindergarten and thinking up a compromise.