5 Rules For Cell Phone Etiquette
Every day people make, take, and just can’t shake annoying cell phone calls.
Technology is supposed to make life more convenient. It’s not supposed to spark a world wide contest to find the most annoying person alive. But somewhere in between the search to find the silliest ringtone ever created and the quest to perfectly juggle every free minute of airtime available, cell phone etiquette died. And it took social etiquette with it.
It’s time to change all that. Stand up. Spread the word. These are the five rules for cellphone etiquette:
- Turn it down. Sometimes, no matter where you are or what you’re doing, you have to be available to take an important call. Maybe you’re on call for work or family members need to check in routinely. The best thing to do is put your cell phone on vibrate so it doesn’t disrupt others. At the very least turn down the volume down and stay away from annoying ringtones. Use a simple ringtone that doesn’t play endlessly and make dogs howl at the moon.
- Turn it off. Life worked out just fine before we all needed to have a pager, a cellphone, a BlackBerry, a satellite phone, a digital camera and an iPod with us everywhere we went. Here’s a deep thought - if it didn’t, we wouldn’t be here now. Practice leaving your collection of electronic gizmos at home when you go out. Get creative and find new ways to communicate with people like talking to them in person. It’ll be an adventure and you might even survive it.
- Be discrete. Get people to text you if they can’t get a hold of you on the phone. You can read the message and determine how important a call is right away without interrupting others during a meeting. If you have to answer your cell phone or make a call, excuse yourself from everyone and take a walk to do so.
- Be where you are. The absolute most annoying thing in the world is to hang out with someone who spends more time talking on their phone than they do talking to you. If you’d rather be somewhere else talking to someone else then that’s where you should be! You’re in the wrong location. Get out of there!
- Cut the leash. It’s just not cool anymore to be a slave to a tiny piece of plastic and the world of people on the other end of the line. Even though important people get important calls which they need to answer immediately, more important people check their messages later and call back when it’s convenient for them.
It’s a good idea to call everyone you know and make sure they’re aware of the rules for cell phone etiquette. If you have trouble getting hold of anyone, call their cell.
