Cell Phone Etiquette

My friend Josh Cook posted a transcript of a podcast entitled "Mr. Manners’ Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Polite Life". I agree with his statement that this definitely needs to be shared with everyone!

There are a lot of people that know how to use a cellphone in the way that it was intended. Originally, people used cellphones for emergencies when they were away from their home or office. Now, they are a tool that many people use in order to give off the impression that they are important. Also, cellphones get abused way too much by selfish people who have little to no regard for those around them.

If you are in my presence, there aren't very many ways to send me over the edge anymore. Once you have kids, your tolerance increases exponentially. But here are a couple of sure-fire ways to ensure that you will never be invited to spend time around me EVER again:

a) Enter my home (or my presence in general) with a Bluetooth headset on your ear. A few years ago when these started becoming popular, I figured that I would get used to them. Heck, I even owned one myself for a while. No such luck. I hate these devices almost as much as the people who idly wear them. I especially loathe the individuals that will wear the ear piece for 24 solid hours, and not receive one phone call. Uggh!!

b) Have me as a guest in your home, make small talk with me, and proceed to make a series of phone calls to people about things that could obviously wait until I leave! I only know of one person who is this rude, and this particular person is selfish in general so why would expect them to operate in a less-than-selfish manner just because I'm a guest in their home? That was my fault for expecting so much...I'll take that blame for that one.

We'll just add this to the ever-expanding list of things that I dislike about Atlanta, which appears to be a breeding ground for this growing lack of cellphone etiquette.