Smartphone Etiquette

[Nickel]

I'm seeing more families use their phones at restaurant tables, including while eating. I've often seen groups of friends scrolling through their phones while hanging out at cafes, parks, and shops. In both cases, they're chatting as they share funny or cool snapshots on their screens. Do you see either situation as rude? I'm not bothered by either one, but I know others don't agree.

[Lynn]

I find it incredibly rude when someone is on their phone while we're dining or even just having a conversation. I'm talking about doing unnecessary things like scrolling through Facebook, though, and I do understand if someone needs to take a call or answer a text.

To add to your observations, @Nickel, I've noticed that a lot of people no longer say, "Excuse me" when they need to do something on their phone. It's almost like many people expect you to understand that staying constantly connected is now a societal norm and they shouldn't have to excuse themselves.

[SableC.]

I don't find it rude if people are looking at the phone together and engaging in conversation about what they're viewing, but that's not usually what I see.  Instead, one person will be staring at their own screen and ignoring their companion or family member completely.   Now that's rude. 

 

[JewelsCat22]

I do find it rude when friends are on their phones when we're hanging out. I understand responding to a text quickly or taking a phone call, but most of the time, my friends are scrolling through Facebook or checking email when we're hanging out. Those things can wait.

I'm guilty of getting caught up in my phone occasionally, too. If a friend is poking at his phone while we're hanging out, my instinct is to pick up mine and do the same because I'm feeling ignored. I've started to be very mindful of this and try to engage the person in conversation instead. 

[G R]

I guess I live in a part of the country (U.S.) where that doesn't happen alot because I don't see it alot. I will take my phone with me because of my on-call status for work outside of my regular shift, but I just put it on the table beside me and forget about it.

I think it's rude for the people who have to see "phone addiction" in public, and it's kind of sad for me to see........coming from a generation that didn't have this growing up.

  

[SableC.]

On 8/16/2019 at 1:00 AM, JewelsCat22 said:

I'm guilty of getting caught up in my phone occasionally, too. If a friend is poking at his phone while we're hanging out, my instinct is to pick up mine and do the same because I'm feeling ignored. I've started to be very mindful of this and try to engage the person in conversation instead. 

I'm shamefaced to admit that I used to act like your friend.  I would rationalize that it was okay to do because I was working rather than just looking at Instagram or surfing the web.  It was quite the ridiculous justification as the world wouldn't end if I didn't answer a query immediately.  Since then I've trained myself to leave my phone alone and not answer work emails or text messages when I'm spending time with someone else.  It really can wait until I'm alone.  We're all busy people in this world, so it's impolite to ignore someone who is making time for you. Having said that, if my companion pulls out their phone first, I figure it's fair game and will get mine out to work.

Does it bug anyone else when friends and family take photos of you or your home and put them on Facebook?  A colleague of mine snaps every dinner party I throw and shares them online.  The kicker is that she changes things in my home like the shade of my curtains.  It's bizarre!  I assume she doesn't like the color I picked out.  I have another friend who is talented at Photoshop.  When she shares a picture of us together, she always gives me a tan.  I have fair skin actually.