Inside this shiny new digital culture, we are still developing socially acceptable parameters, technetiquette, around modern communication. Phones are suitable for long distance intimate conversations, although webcams are preferred. Emails are instrumental in business and day-to-day contact with family and friends. Text messaging is convenient for organizing impromtu get-togethers. We know better than to text message a death notice or snail-mail a "donuts on floor 3" memo.
Modern media, in all its gloried convenience, is transforming social culture into digital hermitization. We instant-message the person down the hall instead of calling and hide behind a confessional emails. We leniently and opportunely let the misdemeanors slide. Just as Emily Post's Etiquette (1922) set social precedents for her time, the digital age requires a new text to promulgate the social laws and etiquette of today. There doesn't yet exist a widely known or circulated reference that addresses the public, courteous use of cellular phones, Blackberries, Treos, and other similar electronic devices.
Just a small start, I plan to flesh out - and I need your help to fill in the rest - some guidelines of mobile technetiquette in an effort that modern society will be morally and digitally mindful of others.
Part I. Respectful Public Use.
Silence your phone. Especially in a movie theater, library, class, or business meeting, ringers can be extremely distracting. Silence your phone before entering; if your vibrating setting also tends to make noise, you may want to consider turning your phone off completely. In the occurrence that you forget and the William Tell Overture goes off during your first AA meeting, politely apologize to the group. Mistakes happen, just be sure to silence your phone the next time.
Keep your voice volume to a reasonable level. In a public place, your voice should be no louder than if the person were sitting next to you. If you feel compelled to shout to Salt Lake when you're calling a person in Denver, consider calling the person back after Golden Girls.
Be mindful of subject matter. While you the speaker may not have a problem airing out your dirty laundry, strangers may not want to hear about your stripper fetish or leprosy outbreaks. Be tactful.
Keep a clean mouth. Curse words may not bother the person on the other line, but it may be offensive to others. Spare all the God-fearers and Harry Potter readers from your potty mouth.
Low-service areas. It is - crackle - frustrating when the cellular service is ____ and - crackle - wavers in and out; entire conversations can be missed. Especially when you can anticipate problematic areas, like the elevator, just call the person later.
Safety. While using handheld cellphones while driving is still legal in most states, it is probably best that you concentrate on the road instead. Buy a headset; telemarketing is so in this season.
Multitasking. The great thing about cellphones is the ability to perform multiple tasks at once; one can be plucking those nasty toe hairs or shopping for Fleet enemas while catching up with an old friend. This convenience should not be abused. When at the checkout line, you don't want your friend to hear the teller say "enemas, buy 1 get 2," or when your friend asks you how your sex life is, you don't want to answer plastic.
Children. Even tweens have cellphones these days. While it may be convenient to keep surveillance on your darling Brits and KFeds-in-trainings, the cellphone is not a substitute for good parenting or a babysitter.
Response to a rude cellphone user. Not everyone will be courteous with their phones: self-important bankers will inevitably gab at romantic restaurants and US-Weekly-reading chicks will gossip at a quiet bookstore. There are polite ways to ask the person to be more courteous. If possible, ask a waiter or salesperson to act as an intermediary; the waiter can always grab a cold steak from the kitchen - better his black eye than yours!
Appropriate use and application of mobile technology should be obvious, but it is apparent that without written laws of refinery, people will continue to abuse the technology for personal convenience at the expense of others. To all respectful people, your conscience is calling!