Mobile Phone Maniacs

Every day I see too many people acting like idiots with their mobile phones and Bluetooth headsets. When is the last time you saw and heard someone talking on their mobile phone that was being rude? Yesterday? Today? A minute ago?

Rudeness is on the the rise according to a survey by the Pew Research Center... 86% of respondents have said that they are occasionally irritated by other people conducting "loud and annoying" mobile phone conversations. This survey, and a 2004 survey done by Sprint, imply that those saying they see and hear rude mobile phone talkers don't believe they themselves are rude when they use their own mobile phones.

Hmmm. Doesn't seem to make sense. Obviously we mobile phone users think we're courteous when we're talking on the phone and most everyone else is rude and disruptive.

Where's the truth?

The truth is we all have a little bit of a mobile phone maniac in us. To purge the maniac in you, stop doing these three things immediately.

1. Stop making calls, and only take important calls, on your mobile phone when you are in a restaurant, using public transportation or in a non-private office setting.

Too many times when we're waiting for someone to join us for lunch or dinner we grab our phone and call someone, anyone. Just give us something to do instead of making us wait, alone, in a restaurant. Try this instead of making a phone call - look at the menu. Ask for crayons if you have to, but give the phone and everyone around you a break.

2. Stop having private phone conversations in public settings. No one cares about your personal business, but that doesn't imply they want to hear it. Walking through the mall talking about inappropriate topics isn't okay just because no one knows who you are.

3. Stop using "I'm multi-tasking" as an excuse for being rude when interacting with a human being and technology at the same time. Here's a simple rule of thumb - the human comes first! Multi-tasking when you are working alone may be a good thing... but even that is debatable. There is no debate when you are talking with someone face to face and you suddenly just grab your phone or activate your Bluetooth headset and start talking to the person one the other end of the phone. That's called being rude.

Try these three things. The noise level in the universe will decline and you can purge yourself of some poor behavior at the same time!

TK