It seems like you can’t throw a rock these days without hitting someone’s top ten list of cell phone faux pas’. The older generation is feeling especially crabby. Baby Boomer and Microsoft Business columnist Joanna L. Krotz tells us why she’s annoyed. “…it’s time to dial down on all this rude and infernal yakking on mobile phones… Loutish cell use is out of control. Mobile phones now ring at weddings and funerals, job interviews and surgical procedures. No event is immune.”
Back in 2003, Elisa Batista echoed the voice of a generation of parents when she wrote for Wired, “A common scene they observed was a group of teenagers sitting together – all with ears glued to cell phones – talking with far-away friends rather than to each other.” Boohoo. Cry me a river, you clumsy-fingered technophobe. I wonder if Elisa Batista is still pecking at her keyboard like it’s an undecipherable alien artifact the way my dad does.
Not all the articles being written are the equivalent of hearing your grandma whine about how things aren’t the same as they were back in the old days – that mystical period when milk was delivered to your door in glass bottles every morning, young people respected their elders, and the earth sweated under the constant threat of complete nuclear annihilation. But some smartphone naysayers actually do bring up some good points.
“Regardless of how boring a meeting may be, do not continuously check your phone for e-mails or text messages. It’s not only rude to your company but also demonstrates nervous, compulsive behavior.” Elizabeth Anne Winters wrote for Forbes Woman. Now that’s decent advice. I hate seeing someone whip out their phone out of desperation, like a drowning man clawing for a life vest. In the style of that sage wisdom, I decided to present my own mini-guide to smartphone etiquette, with a little help from some friends.
One time I was on a date and the girl I was with pulled out her phone and started texting. It wasn’t exactly our first date, but the relationship was definitely not at the married-couple-reading-separate-newspapers-at-the-breakfast-table stage either. After two minutes of stone-cold silence punctuated by frantic button clicking, I found myself fantasizing about creative ways I could end our fledgling relationship… On the next date my dream came true. I’m still not quite sure if texting on dates is a relationship killer or a symptom of a relationship that needs to be put down like a sick animal, but either way, be sure you’re sending the right message.
Place and context are key elements when assessing whether you’re crossing the line. Wesley Daye shared his feelings on good smartphone manners while we puffed on limited edition Arturo Fuente cigars. “See? Times like this. This is when you shouldn’t be allowed to mess with your phone,” the McCombs sophomore said as we leaned back into our chairs on his front porch.
Regina Malagamba, a junior IRG major at UT, recounted the time that she boarded a plane in Mexico City and had to wait while stewardesses repeatedly directed an uncooperative passenger to get off her cell phone so the plane could take off. Regina described the passenger’s behavior as “decidedly douchey.” Actor Josh Duhamel was kicked off a flight this past November for refusing to stop texting and turn off his Blackberry while the plane was on the runway preparing to take off, according to CBS News.
To get a younger perspective on the issue, I asked high school junior, Fred Green, what he thought about smartphone etiquette. “During church is a bad time,” he said. “During the SAT would be bad too…” He thought about it for a second. “Unless you didn’t get caught, then maybe it would be the best time.”