Cell Phone Etiquette Is Not An Oxymoron

During 2010, I owned three different cell phones. I have never been one to chase the latest greatest toys, but clearly 2010 was a terrific year for the mobile communications industry. We welcomed the first 4G phone among other major technological breakthroughs. Cell phones today are targeted toward a broad range of diverse populations, ranging from the aged to the poor. More recently, we have begun also targeting babies for cell phone use, even though they are far too young to form actual words. While too young to form verbal language, they are old enough to mimic cell phone behavior.
 

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Given society's preoccupation with cell phones, it has become even more important to teach our children/youth appropriate cell phone etiquette. Cell phone etiquette is not an oxymoron! During the holidays I had the opportunity to travel from the Midwest to south Florida. During my hours waiting in the airport I decided to consciously observe cell phone behavior. I decided to observe phone behaviors as a result of becoming increasingly annoyed by a loud woman who was oblivious and completely unaware her cell phone use was impacting those around her.  Interestingly, several of the individuals I observed using their cell phones in the airport were traveling with others whom they rarely engaged. These cell phone users appeared more content calling others rather than engaging those with whom they were actually traveling. I identified several characteristics in those I observed, which included the following:

1) The majority of cell phone offenders were female (bummer);
2) lack of awareness of their speaking volume and conversational tone;

3) lack of awareness of the inappropriate nature of their conversations (topics were too personal and unsuitable for public consumption);

4) lack of awareness (or concern) for how their conversations impacted those around them;

5) inability or lack of desire to engage the other individual(s) with whom they were traveling;

I do not believe these individuals behaved poorly while using their cell phone for the sake of annoying others, instead I believe they behaved badly because they were simply unaware of their cell phone behavior. The next time you use your cell phone in public or at home, I ask that you use it consciously. Be present in your physical surroundings; be aware of how your cell phone use may be impacted those around you. Be mindful that children/youth may be watching you and will mimic your behavior, it's how children learn behavior. 

While we may never challenge a person we don't know in public who may be annoying us as a result of their cell phone conversations, we CAN monitor and change our own behavior.

There's Nothing On TV...

How many times have you or someone in your household uttered the words, "there's nothing on TV"? What does this mean exactly? Most American households today have digital TV (so called free TV), cable TV, internet TV, and/or a myriad of other forms of entertainment delivered through our TVs.

I think when we say there's nothing on TV what we are really saying is I need someone (not in the real world)  to entertain and engage me. Some of my friends joke about being in the same house with their spouse/children, but seeing each other rarely because they are living in different areas or zones of the house watching their own individual TVs. These families only see each other when they are passing through a zone of the house on the way to the kitchen to get food only to be taken back to their individual living zones. Some of these families send text messages from room-to-room, and individual-to-individual, while never actually uttering a verbal word. This behavior may occur all weekend in some families and is considered normal.

I really, really enjoy technology, but this familial misuse of technology can't help but have lasting negative affects on the family unit and our society as we know it. As I write this blog I can't help but think about how people may have reacted to the invention of the telephone, and other technological advances that improved familial communication across distances. The invention and mass production of the early telephone helped bridge the gap and bring together family/friends separated by distance. In today's family it may be the technology that is creating the distance within the family household.

Our consumer-driven 24/7, 365, high-paced, high energy, always accessible, never say no, make as much money as you can, work as many hours as you can, secure more toys (cars, houses, spouses, jobs, etc.) than your neighbors, don't know your neighbors culture has us forgetting what is truly important, deep, meaningful relationships with our families and friends.

There are few regrets in life that don't include wishing we had taken more time to talk with our loved ones, or having built wonderful experiences to recall later in life. Many of us are guilty of vegging-out on the couch on a Saturday afternoon, but let's remember the next time we say "there's nothing on TV" that there are others who would love to spend time in real life engaging and entertaining us, so let's talk and really get to know each other.