Phony Phone Calls

With the spread of cell phones, a new phenomenon has emerged in which phones are used to communicate not with the person on the other end of the line, but to communitcate with whoever is in earshot of the caller. This article describes how many people pretend to make phone calls in order to communicate a variety of messages to their surrounding environment.

Some stage calls to avoid contact, whether with neighbors or panhandlers, co-workers or supervisors, Greenpeace canvassers or Girl Scouts. Some do it to impress those within earshot, others so they don't look lonely. Men talk to their handsets while they're checking out women. Women converse with the air to avert unwanted approaches by men.

The author doesn't reach to make any generalizations about this behavior, but would I be wrong to opine that it's a largely antisocial one?