New Hang-Up: Cell Phone Rudeness
Tuesday August 1 1:33 PM ET
By DAVE CARPENTER, AP Business Writer
``There is absolutely no excuse for using a cell phone in the bathroom'' - Ann Landers
The atmosphere was cozy inside the elegant San Antonio club, where a jazz singer was crooning love ballads.
Suddenly a cell phone rang out.
To the dismay of performer Ken Slavin, the patron not only answered the phone - but shushed the singer so he could take the call.
On a San Francisco Bay ferry, where ``Cell Phone Free Zone'' signs are often ignored, a woman was gossiping loudly on her phone.
``Hey lady,'' a fellow rider piped up. ``I think I speak for the rest of the passengers here when I say that we don't care to hear about the intrigues of your office, so please either finish your call or go outside.''
The woman stormed out, to applause.
As cellular or mobile phones proliferate rapidly, with more than 100 million U.S. users and counting, so are complaints about cell phone rudeness. It's not just Ann Landers and Miss Manners urging people to watch their mobile etiquette - seething bystanders have had it up to here with the constant rrring of the brave new wireless world.
``No Cell Phones'' signs are popping up all over. Restaurants, theaters, libraries, museums, doctors' offices have imposed bans on the devices because of boorish behavior.
Americans embrace cell phones because they're convenient, helpful for business, invaluable for keeping tabs on children or loved ones, fun and increasingly inexpensive. But, oh, the cacophony!
With an estimated 46,000 Americans becoming new mobile phone users daily, according to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, public places are becoming one big party line.
It's no wonder actor Laurence Fishburne became something of a hero for bellowing at a cell-toting spectator during a Broadway play last year, ``Will you turn off that (expletive) phone, please?''
``People on the street jabbering away, in restaurants, in public toilets for heaven's sake!'' said New Yorker Judy Walters.
She's not joking. According to an industry-sponsored telephone survey conducted in March by Wirthlin Worldwide, 39 percent of those polled said they would answer a cell phone call in the bathroom.
A backlash has cell phone manufacturers so concerned that they have initiated ad campaigns to educate users about cell phone behavior.
Nokia Corp. took part in Cell Phone Courtesy Week in San Diego in July, helping to hand out ``Quiet Zone'' stickers to businesses. Mayor Susan Golding started the courtesy campaign after 73 percent of nearly 5,300 people responding to a question on her Web site said they favored restricting cell phones in public places.
You don't have to look long-distance to find evidence of the public's aggravation level:
- Doctors at a Toronto hospital report treating mobile phone talkers and irritated bystanders for black eyes and even a cracked rib after eruptions of ``cell phone rage.''
- A New York restaurant fielded so many gripes it set up a cell phone lounge, banishing their use elsewhere on the premises.
- A Chicago train commuter publicly urged other passengers to do what he does when cell phone yakkers push his button: whip out a notebook, lean closer and exaggeratedly take notes of the conversation.
Growing use of hand-held phones in cars - a separate issue involving safety rather than noise - exacerbates the bad cell phone vibes. Several communities, including Marlboro Township, N.J.; Hilltown Township, Pa.; and Brooklyn, Ohio, recently banned use of the phones while driving.
The cell phone industry is fighting such restrictions, but the debate continues.
National Public Radio's popular Car Talk program, whose hosts rail against cell-phoning drivers, has given away 60,000 ``Drive Now, Talk Later'' bumper stickers since last September. ``The response has taken us by surprise,'' said staffer Doug Mayer.
Surprised is how instructor Cassandra Imfeld felt when a student taking her final exam started walking out when his cell phone rang. Imfeld, who teaches public speaking at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, told him she'd flunk him if he took the call.
The student sat back down, but got the promised F anyway when he got up later to place a call.
Sociologist Jill Stein said that while the novelty of cell phones is wearing off, people still feel important when they use them in public: ``Now everybody gets to be a big shot.''
Like many, she believes high-tech innovations have helped hasten the deterioration of old-fashioned etiquette. ``Manners between strangers have broken down,'' said Stein, a UCLA sociology professor and director of Cultural Research Assistants in Santa Monica, Calif. ``We've become desensitized to each other.''
Cell phone devotees respond that there's way too much blame being heaped on the devices and their users.
``People should give cell phone users a break and quit slamming them,'' said Dina Medina of San Francisco. ``Cell phones are a fact of life, are not going away and actually help improve people's lives.''
Technological advancements may help mute the controversy, but not just yet. BlueLinx Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., has developed Q-Zone, a system that creates specific areas where electronic devices ring and beep at lower volume levels. But installation of such technology is at least two years off.
A more extreme solution, jammers, shut off a phone in a designated area without the user's permission. That's mighty enticing to the anti-mobile crowd, perhaps, but illegal in many countries.
That leaves the national debate on cell phone yakking likely to remain where it is now for the foreseeable future - at full volume.
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On the Net:
Mobile etiquette tips: computersathome.com
Tips for courteous cell calling: 10meters.com
Usage tips from LetsTalk.com: letstalk.com
Car Talk's ``Drive Now Talk Later'': cartalk.cars.com
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Etiquette tips for users of mobile phones, or cell phones, culled from a variety of manners mavens, other experts and the cell phone industry itself:
Remember that the person you're with should take precedence over a phone call.
Utilize the phone's caller ID feature to screen incoming calls and let voice mail take them if they're not urgent.
Use silent or vibrating options when indoors or in a close environment. Or just turn off the phone.
Don't engage in ``cell yell.'' Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, says there's no need to speak louder on your cell phone than you would on any other phone.
Use text messaging if available.
Keep your phone close at hand for first-ring answering.
If you're in a noisy place, call back from somewhere quieter.
Call other cell phone users during business hours, and not during meal times.
If you have to keep your cell phone on during a meeting, explain in advance.
Don't give out your cell phone number freely or leave it on your answering machine.
Don't use a cell phone while driving. Pull over if you must take a call.
Don't use it on a date - ever. It may be your last.
SOURCES: Nokia, San Diego mayor's office, GetConnected.com, etiquette experts |
