Manic Monday - "Cell" Phone Etiquette
Cell
With that being said, I give you The Ten Commandments of Cell Phone Etiquette:
1. Thou shalt not subject defenseless others to your cell phone conversations. If you are in a doctor's office, taxi cab, elevator, dinner table, etc please spare them. People around you should have the option of not listening. If they do not have that option, zip it!
2. Thou shalt not disrupt a silent room with a LOUD, annoying ring tone. Think about your tone as you download it. Is it appropriate in all places? If not, don't download it. Just because you like to sing "Push It" in the shower doesn't mean that you want your phone to lay into heavy breathing during a parent teacher converence!
3. Thou shalt silence all cell phones during any public performance. Do I really need to delve further into this one? I mean, come on, people. If you go to the theater to watch a movie, watch the damn movie and leave the phone off. I was at a funeral one time and someone's phone rang. The sad thing was that the person did not silence said phone. It continued to ring while they walked to the back of the funeral home. Once at the back I heard, "Hello" as they walked out the door! That is the rudest of the rude, if you ask me!
4. Thou shalt not wear an ear piece while NOT on the phone. It's bad enough that you people walk around with these things on your ear that make you look like something from a sci fi movie, why should I have to guess whether you are listening to me or someone in the great beyond!
5. Thou shalt not text or dial while driving. It's dangerous, period!!!
6. Thou shalt never answer your phone in the restroom. I love this one. People actually DO THIS and then you can hear them telling someone on the other end, "I'm in the restroom". This is wrong on many levels!
7. Never, EVER, and I mean NEVER EVER answer the phone when you are in a conversation with someone already. It's rude and inappropriate!
8. Thou shalt finish thy phone conversation before entering a drive through, or stepping up to a cashier, or any other person with whom you are expected to have conversation. It annoys the people behind you as well as the person who is giving you their undivided attention, slows down the line, and it's just plain rude!
9. Don't send pointless forwards via text messages. Some of us don't spend money on texting plans because frankly we don't care to text, so those idiotic forwards that you keep sending over and over are only costing us money and we probably already got them in an e-mail three years ago!
10. If you have one of those "answer tones" on your phone, remove it immediately. I cannot stand to call certain people in my phone book because when I do I am subjected to their favorite song of the day which in most cases is blaring and I either can't understand it or I can understand it and wish I couldn't hear it.
So there you have it. These are some of my personal pet peeves that I have deemed commandment worthy. What do you think? What are YOUR pet peeves?
20 comments, add yours here:
Double check #8 (I think you meant to omit the "not")
I agree with you - I love my cell, but there are just some people who should never have one. Here in Michigan, the "two-way" feature on cell phones is very popular - where the phone is a walkie-talkie. Even MORE annoying than regular cell phone conversations!
I had a customer in the store last week, and their cell sounded like an old fashioned phone ring - except that in between each ring, a voice said "Incoming Call" *ring* "Incoming Call" ring "Incoming Call" -- I almost yelled, "Answer the Incoming Call, bitch!"
Yes, that was indeed the case! Thanks. I proofread several times but it's late, I'm trying to watch DH that I DVRed and I'm sleepy!
Oh, thank goodness those things are not so popular around here. Brien had them once, but the button was in a bad spot. He'd hit it all of the time and be walkie talking to someone he didn't mean to. Thank goodness he got rid of those things. I agree, they are very annoying. I should've added that one to the list!
LOL Those are great! I hate driving and seeing others talking on the phone! DRIVES ME INSANE, b.c it's like can't you wait til u get home so u don't cause an accident. OR better yet, just get off the road.
When I was in Oklahoma last August, I was sitting in the room with my darling daughters and they're both chatting away on their cell phones! What ever happened to the art of conversation? And my youngest calls me all the time while shopping, at the bank, at the grocery store, going through the drive-through....I never know who the heck she's talking to, me or the person on the phone. I hate it!!!
(I'm sorry I missed Friday's sky and Critters. I went through your posts and caught up. Love the green beans!)
~~~Blessings~~~
I agree with all that you said. I HATE seeing people drive using a cell phone. I did a post a few months when my friend almost killed herself by slamming into a construction truck on the highway while she was talking on cell phone.
Amen to those commandments.
I have people call the house and say "Where have you been? I've been calling and calling you." Apparently nobody even thinks to call you on you home phone anymore.
I'm afraid I've never heard of the song "Push It", so I'm pretty sure that means I'm old.
100% with you hon!
xoxo
Cell phone etiquette is a peeve of mine. At my Dad's and Hubby's Dad's funerals cell phones went off. Same at Stepdaughter's wedding (the groom's father's phone no less!).
Mine is always off in restaurants, definitely off in church (I'm not THAT important that I have to be reached in church) and off at the doctor's office.
sometimes I wonder where folks get their manners.
And let me tell you, there's nothing more annoying than those dang musical rings breaking a quiet peaceful silence...Gee, I'm passionate about this... aren't I?
I've got to admit that I just don't get the answer tones. I am not up on cell phone technology, and I just recently found out that people pay extra to subject us to there answer tones.
An Arkie's Musings
lucky for me i have grace. she knows what to do!
smiles, bee
xxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Not participating, but wanted to comment. I'm not a cell phone fan at all. I hate listening to other peoples conversations. My biggest pet peeves is don't subject me to your phone conversation while I'm dining in a restaurant. It DRIVES ME NUTS!
Big hug. :)
This was my first time visiting your blog (thanks to Manic Mondays), and I have to say, "I'll be back!" I even tweeted about this post, so if you get some extra Twitter traffic, that was just me showin' you some well-deserved bloggy love!
I totally loved this post! Kudos!
Adonya
Adonya Wong
Author | Autism Blogger
Amen, sister, but methinks you're preaching to the choir. I'll be a lot of people agree with you on these.
(What bugs me is the doctor's office one; it seems the worst culprits are seniors who don't hear well and love to talk loudly into their phones.)
Thou shalt expect me to stare intently and listen as intently to your cell conversation. Since thou is speaking in public, thou has given up the right to any pretense of privacy.
AMEN, AMEN, AMEN... I have a cell phone that is only used if and when necessary!!
Agree with you totally. Believe it or not, I don't have one, and have no interest in getting one.
I agree with your 10 rules definitely, Tisha! My post is about cell phones too! :)
Well put!!! I seldom use my 'cell' in public ... and I wish others followed your rulez.
Hugs and blessings,
These are great rules for cell phone etiquette but good luck getting people to pay attention to them. I keep wondering when it was that everyone got so self-important that they just HAD to have a cell phone in case they missed something. It was kind of nice to actually miss something once in awhile!
Rudeness is out of control in public society. It's gotten backward. These days, it's often considered rude when you ask someone to lower the volume on their intrusive cell phone conversation.
Or you are considered a rude eavesdropper when you can't help but hear the other person's conversation.
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