Phone Etiquette, It’s about being Present

It’s Time to have a little talk about phone etiquette. I realized this when I was in a restaurant with my husband yesterday. These two women seated next to us were finishing their lunch and one woman pulled out her phone. It was almost as if she were saying to her lunch date, this lunch is now over and I have more important things to look at. The lunch date pulled out her lipstick and mirror vs. her phone. And I thought; good for her, because that was so rude..

One of the worst examples of rude phone behavior is when walking by someone who sees you and knows you but does not want to say hello; They will pull out their phone  as a snub and pretend they are talking to some one to avoid you and a conversation with you. How much easier it would be to just smile and say hello..

We flew out to California to visit my son a few years ago when he was in college out there. The phones were relatively still a novelty but he kept looking down at dinner and I realized he was texting under the table. I quietly told him we did not fly all the way out here to watch you text and talk to everyone else..

We drove up to an ice cream place in town and I noticed three older people in their 60’s all sitting together eating ice cream. But as we got closer, I realized they were all texting on their phones to someone else.. I thought wow, it’s not just the kids that are doing this. We are all a victim of phone distraction..

Men are no better than women. I was on a boat two days ago with my brother and my husband. They both kept looking at their phones. I don’t know what they were looking for out in the middle of the ocean. Or who they needed to talk to. But I actually felt like throwing the phones in the ocean.. The idea was to get out there and get away from it all. Eventually, I took my phone out and started taking pictures with it…

I try to keep my phone out of the way when I am with other people unless I am using it to meet someone. I keep it in my pocketbook while I am driving so I will not even be thinking about it or be tempted to text from behind the wheel.

Also as a passenger, I keep my phone in my bag so I can talk to my driver and be in the conversation. 

I suggest you all start trying this. It’s not very nice to always be looking over someone’s shoulder via your phone for someone better or something more stimulating.. it makes the person your with feel alienated and dismissed..