YES!!! THIS IS VERY ANNOYING. No matter what you see when you look around the room. If you are the "tapper," you might not find it annoying. For ANYONE ELSE, it is driving them nuts! No matter what the reason for it is, if you are in a room with anyone else, DON'T DO IT! It is rude and annoying! You might say it's not doing anyone harm... Well what if me and you were sitting in a room and I just kept farting... Would you think it was ok because I'm just trying to stay awake or not harming anyone? I don't think so!

sit still! please!

people do it in class and it is unbelievably annoying.

I do this a bit myself, but I don't really see how it can be annoying. I guess if you're under a lot of stress and the person your present with keeps tapping away, then I guess I could empathize with that.

it doesn't bother me much

I know some people can't help it but it drives me up the wall. I don't care about finger tapping but people who tap pens really loudly or as my dad does, taps his feet on the floor.....oh for christ sake! It really drives me balmy......I find I need to leave the room. Yes I fidget but at least I have the courtesy to do it quietly!

Although it can be annoying,this kind of subtle movement often results in more clarity of mind and more concentration towards whatever may be on the mind of the finger tapper.

This can be a huge nuisance when you're in a class that you're trying your hardest to listen and take notes in. I've rarely had to deal with this crap but when it happens it really chaps my ass.

I don't normally have a problem with people who occationally tap..example) they are nervous or bored. I occationally to this too, but I am more likely to shake my leg or twiddle my fingers than to tap items on a hard surface. I find it annoying though, when I am in the middle of class and my learning is being interrupted by someone who purposely tries to annoy the teacher and the class, by making "music" on the desks with their fingers/pencils. No one is amused by your so called "music", so stop while you are ahead.

I hate it when other people do it because it drives me up the wall. On the other hand, I do this constantly. I can't help it, and I don't even realize I'm doing it. Other people probably don't realize they are doing it either, but it still drives me crazy.

Everyone taps their fingers or pencils while they're bored. I do this during some of my more boring classes to keep myself awake. Trust me, sitting through a calculus class can be really dull. Tapping a pencil on my notebook in between writing my notes keeps me from going to sleep. I don't think any of the students mind, but I think the professors do sometimes. Oh well, maybe they will take that as a sign to liven up the class!

a habit used 2 pass the time of a maths lesson!!!

Annoying I suppose, if we’re talking about the random hyperactive tapper. But when this kind of nervous energy is more organized it is not without its entertainment value. At one time or another almost every boy I went to jr. high or high school with tried his hand at an erratic desktop pencil drum solo of “Wipe Out”. The teachers usually hated it but even they probably had to admit it was a better outlet for nervous hormone driven energy than many other things they could have been doing. It’s funny too how nervous fidgeting seems to differ between the sexes. Girls tend to twist their hair, chew their finger or squirm around in their chairs while boys seem to just want to pound something – furniture, walls, other kids. I personally always got a kick out of the kid in the back of the room with the nervous habit of making silly but witty comments – especially during classes I hated. Other than in a school setting I really haven’t noticed a lot of this kind of thing so I guess it doesn’t bother me enough to remember it.

When you're concentrating at something, the tiniest little sound is enough to send you flying. In this case tapping anything against anything is considered a horrible habit. Then again if it's you doing the tapping, it's no biggie.