From updating Twitter, to checking Facebook, to making purchases, to fielding emails and text messages, it seems like hardly anyone uses a cell phone to have a conversation anymore; that is in part because the conversations have gone global.
Social networking allows anyone with an Internet connection to get and send information to a dozen sources at any given moment. Despite this intense connectedness, there are still rules of etiquette that apply to using a cell phone.
Text Messages, Email, Facebook and Twitter
When in a social situation, whether it’s coffee with a friend, a romantic dinner or lunch with a business associate, interrupting the conversation to send a text message or respond to an email is always rude. If answering a text or email is important, it’s equally important to excuse oneself from the conversation briefly in order to do so.
Taking attention away from a conversational partner in order to check Facebook or Twitter sends the message that the cell phone is more important than the person speaking. Leaving the phone on silent or taking a moment to respond to a message in private is a better alternative than leaving a companion ignored and insulted.
Cell Phones in Group Settings
When in a business meeting, attending a speech or in a movie theater, cell phones should be turned off or, at minimum, have their ringers off. It is disrespectful to speakers and other patrons at events to be confronted with distracting cell phone use; social networking sites can wait for a break in the presentation or the end of the movie to be updated.
Making and Receiving Phone Calls Politely
Making and receiving phone calls while with another person is not always a breach of cell phone etiquette if handled correctly. Most calls can be ignored while in a social or business setting and returned later; voice mail and text messages are useful for communicating with someone who is unavailable.
If a call needs to be made or taken, excusing oneself to talk somewhere private is appropriate. Having a companion party to a phone call can cause awkwardness or distraction, and simply ignoring someone to answer a call is disrespectful both to the caller and one’s companion.
Dealing with Rude Cell Phone Use
If someone in a social setting is using a cell phone rudely, simply asking them to remove themselves while they use the phone or waiting until later is the most polite way to deal with the distraction of someone else’s phone.
It is more distracting to spend time with someone who is using a cell phone inappropriately than it is awkward to ask them to put it away temporarily. Engaging companions in the present activity is another tactful way to get them away from using a cell phone during a social setting.
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