Pet Peeve Monday: People Touching Screens

Some of my pet peeves are definitely not shared by many. While every Tom, Dick, and Jane self-diagnoses him/herself to be OCD, I believe I do have a few things that classify me as a little nutty. One of them... it drives me absolutely insane when someone touches the screen of my computer or my TV. It is to the point that I want to go get cleaner and wipe of the smudge as soon as possible, but out of fear of looking like a crazy cleaning loon, I stare at the fingerprint and dwell on it and nothing else until it has been wiped away.

Why is it that someone HAS to touch the screen? Pointing and touching are two different things. When you point to something, I can look in the direction of your finger and my brain is complex enough that the neurons begin firing and I know what you want me to look at. It is not necessary for you to actually reach an extra inch and physically touch the word(s) or picture. Give me the benefit of the doubt that I am smart enough to connect the imaginary line from the tip of your finger to my screen. I did complete a few connect the dot pictures in grade school.

I like to compare this with manners. Some people are really laid back, and do not like to be called ma'am or sir. On the other end of the spectrum, some people are really uptight and are completely offended by the absence of manners. To err on the safe side, it is common sense to be polite to everyone until they tell you it is okay to let your guard down and be more relaxed and informal. So, when it comes to my personal belongings, I would appreciate it if you respected my things, and not touch them unless I do so myself first or for some strange reason, I say "hey, you can put your fingers all over my computer screen if you would like to touch it." Maybe my computer or TV screen are not completely clean and smudge free to begin with, but I have enough germs, dust, and dirt to clean on a daily basis without you adding to the mess. So if you missed Manners 101 with your parents, please keep your hands to yourself. Thank you, sir.