How To Practice Cellphone Etiquette

Everyone loves their cellphone. If you are riding long stretches, it's safer. If you forget what the wife wanted you to pick up at the store, it's more convenient. What with ringtones and game downloads, the cellphone is so much more fun than a telephone has ever been.

Unfortunately, some people love their cellphone too much. They just can't practice cellphone etiquette. If you aren't sure if you are a polite user of the cellular phone, let me make clear some times and places where it is poor manners to use your cellphone.

1. Get On and Get Off

Do not overuse your cellphone in traffic. Talking on the phone is distracting. Your full concentration isn't on whatever task is at hand. That's fine, if you're doing the crossword or surfing the channels on the television. When you're driving in rush hour traffic, it could be deadly.

Try not to spend any time on the cellphone in the car. If you do, make sure you convey your information and get off. And if you are in heavy or dangerous traffic, simply do not answer your phone. It just isn't worth it.

2. Use the voicemail when appropriate.

You don't have to answer every call at that moment. Look at the number. Most of the time, it can probably wait.

Let the voicemail answer for you. Then check the voicemail. If it is a matter of life and death, take the appropriate actions. If it isn't, wait until you are outside or in private.

3. Turn off your cellphone indoors.

If you don't like that idea, learn to set your phone to the buzz option. This way, you don't interrupt everyone in your vicinity when your phone goes off.

Do not talk on your cellphone in a restaurant. People go to these places for a nice, quiet meal. That is part of the dining experience. No one wants to hear the person in the booth next to them talk about their friend's divorce.

Libraries, classrooms and bookstore chains are another place where quiet is reserved. It is quite the opposite of impressive to be talking inside of these places.

4. Consideration For Others

There are certain indoor locations where it is beyond inconsiderate to talk on the cellphone. Turn off the power in a movie theater. If you are at a wedding or funeral, it is even more incumbent upon you to do the same. This goes beyond the mere rude, and makes it look like you don't have good sense about you.

5. Pay attention to your surroundings.

If other people around you are looking annoyed, they probably are. It's simply rude to be having a conversation in the middle of a group of people who want peace and quiet.

You may think that you look important talking on your cellphone. Unfortunately, people can hear what you are saying. Therefore, unless you're telling someone how to land the plane, you self-importance isn't going to impress people. Talking in a crowd of people about what you are going to have for dinner is not only rude and inconsiderate, but it makes it look like you don't have very good judgement.

6. Walk in the shoes of the people around you.

Have you ever heard the person next to you talking on the phone and thought, "That is what I want to hear right now?" Nobody wants to hear your conversation.

When cellphones were brand new, perhaps people looked important talking into one of them. That's just no longer the case. Now, your grandmother has a cellphone.

Further reading

You might also be interested in cell phone ringtones and downloads. The site offers reviews of popular cell phone services like Flycell and Thumbplay. Even older cell phone ringtone providers like Mobile Sidewalk are covered.