Hand Tally Counters

I know there are more things going on than to just post about hand tally counters but I've been seeing it in the train and it's sort of freaking me out. The first time it was when I saw a very petite caucasian with very light blue eyes who's muslim speaking to another person on the subway while she frequently press down on a mechanical hand tally counter. It has annoyed me but than I noticed another time when an asian was using a digital hand tally while on the subway. An internet search shows that religious individuals use this to count prayers... but I don't see any praying going on... So confused. Anyone know another reason?