Recently I wrote an article about errant text messages and text message blunders.  You may never have made any of these mistakes thanks to God.  But have you ever been a victim of pocket dialing? (Women get Purse Dialing) This one is the bane of my existence!  And for goodness sake folks... Pocket dialing even has a wikipedia entry! 

Pocket dialing is something just about any cell phone owner may have fallen victim to.   It is when your cell phone makes a call without you intending to make the call.  It gets it's name from having cell phone in your pocket (generally back pocket) and a normal body movement results in dialing either randomly or dialing a number from your phone's phonebook or last number previously in conversation with etc... 

Now you are walking along, or sitting to dinner or doing something without any knowledge your phone has made a call.  Again, I tell a little story about how my own phone called my wife (ex-wife) when I was out to lunch with a friend in my article Text messaging blunders, mistakes and the embarassment. This was far from the only time I've suffered from pocket dialing.  A few weeks ago my phone dialed my parents, three times! Last week it called my girlfriend.  Two months ago it called my son at school and he got his phone confiscated for the day until I came to pick it up for him. LOL  That is an ironic twist eh!

Pocket dialing has apparently reached epidemic proportions as it made it into everthing from discussion boards and phone reviews to an episode of How I Met Your Mother (TV Show CBS) when Ted's phone called Marshall's apartment all evening the night of St. Patrick's day celebrating.  The result was a reality check to his true behavior that prior evening.  And that is usually what pocket dialing does to us.  Someone starts yelling from your pocket "Hey! Your phone called me! Answer dummy! Can you hear me?"

Or they just listen intently like a fly on the wall as you eventually become aware of your behavior and potential embarrassment.

You know... I'm great about switching my phone to vibe EVERY time I enter a movie show or attend a show.  But sadly I can only place myself at about 20 percent of the time using the keypad lock feature when I have my phone.  

Speaking for myself, pocket dialing is a pain in the butt, but it certainly isn't out of control in my life.  Generally it's good for a laugh.  It certainly hasn't happened all that often, but enough that I noticed and begun asking myself... "Is this just me?"  "Am I a misfit?"   The good news is no.  It seems technology is not perfect and based on the type phone or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) phone you have; pocket dialing can occur if you are not vigilant against it.