Akossa,
I would like to thank you for your cellphone etiquette advice featured in the everyday survival skills section of the brains page last week. I look forward to reading this week’s continuation. You see, so many people are unaware of the rules and responsibilities that come with owning a cellphone.
I am always annoyed by people who drive with their phones glued to their ear, nearly causing accidents. And then there are those who never bother to put their phones on silent at funerals, in church and at meetings.
When their phone rings, disturbing everyone’s concentration, they root around their handbags (if female) or pockets (if male), all the while putting on a look that seems to say they are not sure whether it’s their phone ringing or someone else’s.
My biggest bother, though, are people who disappear into their phones at social gatherings or during a meal at restaurants with a bored look on their faces, making it seem as if the person or people keeping them company were boring them to death.
I hope that your articles will get through to some of these people and remind them that having a cellphone does not mean letting go of their manners! I wish I could copy and forward your articles to the people on my friends list or, better yet, print them out and stick them up in random places!
Martina,
Lilongwe
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Ed’s Response
Martina,
I couldn’t have said it better myself; it seems you took the words right out of my mouth. In fact, your correspondence has given me an idea for an editor’s letter on etiquette that I have not previously explored.
