How to Use Your Cellular Phone Considerately

By eHow Culture & Society Editor

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An epidemic of inconsiderate cell phone use has given the devices a bad reputation. By following these simple guidelines, you can avoid embarrassment and help cell phones regain their status as a popular and useful communication innovation.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Cellular phones
Cellular phone handsfree car kits
Cellular phone headsets

Step1

Keep your voice modulated whenever you're making a call in a public area. If the conversation gets excessively emotional or personal, arrange to call the person back from a private location.

Step2

Keep your public conversations brief. Try to take only truly important calls.

Step3

Turn off your cell phone before entering movie theaters, play houses, churches, restaurants, public transportation or any other place where it may be irritating and disruptive to others.

Step4

Set your phone's ringer to vibrate, if possible, if you don't wish to turn it off. Then sit near an aisle and close to an exit so you can take your phone conversations to the lobby without disturbing others.

Step5

Avoid using your cell phone while driving, as this may endanger your life and the lives of others. If you get an extremely important call while driving, pull over before answering.

Tips & Warnings

If someone else's cell phone use is irritating you, politely ask them to finish up their call or ask an usher, waiter or other employee to intervene.
Do not use your cell phone while on an airplane or inside a hospital ward, as it may interfere with other electrical instruments.

Comments

Anonymous said

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on 1/31/2006 If you don't already have one, purchase a folding cell phone - the kind that clips to your belt. Set it to vibrate only, and clip it to your belt. Now when you get an incoming call, you won't annoy others with self-important, "Hey look at me!" sounds from your phone. You will also save money by not downloading even more irritating ring tones. An added bonus is that you can feel your phone vibrate in a loud environment such as a nightclub or busy street, which would otherwise prevent you from hearing the ringer!
Seriously, we don't need to hear, nor are we impressed by, your fancy ring tones.

Anonymous said

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on 1/5/2006 Do not use your speaker phone. Period! I'm sure the person on the other end does not want to have others listen to their conversation. Especially when they think that they are talking to you privately. Others around you have no desire to listen to it either.

Anonymous said

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on 1/5/2006 One very simple thing to remember; before you take a call in a public area, how would you feel if you were the others around you at that time? Would you want to be the person behind you in the checkout lane who is having to wait longer because you are on your phone while checking out? Would you want to be the employee who is being ignored because you are on the phone? Would you want to be another customer who needs help having to wait longer because of you? And do you honestly want everyone else in the area to know what you are conversing about? And would you appreciate being run into by someone on a cell phone?

If you have no issues with being treated in that way, then feel free to behave in that way. But if you would not like others to treat you in that way, don't do it.

Treat others as you would want to be treated is the golden rule for a reason. Remember that when using your cell phone around others, if you would not want others doing to you something that you do, don't do it.

Anonymous said

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on 1/5/2006 Many hospitals now allow cell phone use, and they have not approved them on flights because they want you to use their phones and don't want you to disturb others.

Anonymous said

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on 1/5/2006 The next time you are trapped by that loud cell phone user, who wants to conduct all of his business in the seat next to you (never mind the polite request that they go elsewhere or call later), just take out a pen, grab a handy piece of paper and start taking notes. If they don't get the hint right away, ask them to repeat a few points for clarity.

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