There's a reason why the "A-hole" characters on SNL wear prominent Bluetooth ear-sets. They look ridiculous. Life isn't Star Trek and these people are not Uhura.

I work in the bar and nightclub industry and when bluetooth headsets became popular, a lot of single guys started to wear them around the NIGHTCLUBS. I've always wondered what they were thinking. Does it make them look cool? "Man, I got so many women I need to be available when they call! Important? Like "I'm Mr. Big, I have to have a bluetooth headset so my minions can contact me." Or trying to tell the single women that they have a cell phone. "I have my bluetooth headset so you can ask ME for my number."

Usually like 99.999% of the time, when they try to pick up on single women and they get laughed at or shot down. I've always wondered if they knew they looked like dorks.

The worst part is that they STILL wear them.

Did anyone else notice that somebody was wearing one as they walked into the Capitol Rotunda for President Ford's service last week? I couldn't see who it was, but he was walking in the official procession. It was horrible.

I generally avoid talking on the phone while driving, but if I must, it'll always be with a headset.

And California will require that all drivers use a headset or speakerphone while driving as of 1 July 2008, so it looks like we're gonna see a lot more of those headsets around soon.

I'm all for it as long as I don't get killed by a driver who was yapping on a mobile phone.

I think it is the best when people wear them in the Subway in NYC!!! THE SUBWAY!!!! who is going to get a call while in the underground!? The other new trend is for people to wear them as they are working their service jobs. I have seen a few people working in the fast food shops in a mall foodcourt while having their headsets on! I think it's a coin toss between the ones who wear it in the subway or ones who wear them while working a fast food job that makes me laugh the most!

Happy New Year and Happy Travels!

Absolutely agree - people look ridiculous, and seem to just be "trying to impress" others?!? I can't imagine they are THAT important that they have to answer phone calls so quickly that they couldn't be bothered to take a telephone (or headset) out of their pocket before answering a call.

It also seems 'rude' to whoever they are with - as if whoever MAY call is more important than who they are currently with...

Of course they look ridiculous. I usually refer to these people as if they were a dorky superhero, "Headset Man". (They are usually men) As in, "Look over there. Headset Man is having lunch!" Yesterday I saw Headset Man having lunch with his family. He was not talking on the telephone. He was eating with his kids. He looked like such a dork.

While I don't use a Bluetooth, I have received calls in the Metro (subway) in Washington. The system has been specifically wired for cellular by Verizon. This may not be true in NYC.

Wow. Interesting thread.

This morning in Shanghai, my wife and I had a taxi driver with an attitude. He kept making almost-over-the-line snide comments -- I must have a lot of money, it must be nice to be a woman and not have to work -- things along those lines. All I could think was, "And yet you're the guy driving a cab."

So many judgmental people!

I have a bluetooth headset and keep it on from time to time, particularly when I'm transiting an airport. I do it because it's convenient for me -- I don't want to stop and fumble through my pockets to find it when I'm expecting a call. I don't wear it to impress anyone, and I certainly don't wear it to pick up girls -- I couldn't care less what people think.

This thread strikes me as a case of, "the lady doth protest too much." A bluetooth headset costs $50 -- less on sale. No one buys them to impress anyone, any more than any one uses a cellphone to impress anyone. If you think anyone uses a bluetooth headset to impress any one else, you might want to examine your own self-esteem issues.

People use bluetooth headsets because it's convenient -- the same reason they use ballpoint pens instead of quills with a bottle of ink. If my use of a bluetooth headset is a source of amusement to some, well, I'm not the one driving a cab.

I was asked to take my baby niece to McDonalds the other day for some fries and the girl working the register was wearing one. I really wanted to make a comment to her, but just bit my tongue. Ridiculous was a gross understatement. More like...who the hell are you?

See previous post. Any reason for such people to have cell phones on at work at all? They look ridiculous, and should therefore be ridiculed.

Well, I think the bluetooth headsets look ridiculous when in use. So many people walking around who look like they're talking to themselves or their imaginary friend. You can't tell who's crazy anymore.

Paraphrasing Oscar Wilde, I never go to McDonalds. Obviously, our social spheres are widely different.

My only concern if a cashier or order-taker was wearing a bluetooth headset would be if they were actually using it while I attempted to place my ordert -- they should stop talking and pay attention to their job. Otherwise, I wouldn't even notice, much less care.

Seriously, why would you care what some minimum-wage teenager taking orders at McDonalds wears? Do you really go around keeping a mental score card: Ridiculous -- Not Ridiculous?

When I'm in my car (Acura TL) I use the Handsfree Link which lets me communicate through the car's speaker system. Nobody can tell the difference between that type of call versus me holding the phone to my ear. I love how I have caller ID on my dashboard and call make outcalling calls using voice recognition. Since it is Bluetooth, it works even if my mobile phone is buried in my briefcase which has been tossed into the back seat of the car.

When I'm not in my car, I use my Motorola RAZR as a normal phone. I refuse to wear a phone as an accessory so I like how it slips into my pants pocket. It's so thin and light so I hardly notice it's there.