Mobile Phone and social etiquette

The use of mobile phone should be more socially acceptable.

Few days ago I had the opportunity to attend a milad mahfil. While we were in the middle of a recitation from the holy Quran, a mobile phone started ringing. It was ringing and ringing. The dancing tune of the mobile phone was irritating. Everybody felt disturbed. It ruined the whole environment. How often we face such situations, when mobile phones are destroying the serenity of any environment and forcing us to hear most private conversations and even sometime to observe indecent gestures and hear slang in public places.

Mobile or Cell phone has changed our life. The use of cell phone sometime violates social etiquettes. It is sometimes just out of control. Mobile phones now ring at examination halls, classrooms, inside the bus, inside a cinema hall, in job interviews and even at funerals.

Everywhere we go, from a grocery shop to supermarket, from elevators to the bank, from conference rooms to restaurants, mobile addicts are blurting out steady streams of shocking and confidential revelations. It is forcing us to overhear very personal expressions.

There should not be any doubt that mobile phone is a great invention. The problem is not with the technology but with the people. The problem lies with the negative change in human psychology that changes the social behavior and norms.

Mobile phones are changing business courtesies. Now many people answer their cell phones in the middle of important meetings. Many teachers now answer mobile phones in the middle of a class. Mobile phones have taken self-consciousness to a new level. People no longer care about others feelings. Talking by a mobile gave them a tool to express their freedom of expressions at any place and at any time. It helped to grow a new generation of narcissist. After all some experts say, old civilization ended when USA attacked Iraq! People are defining new rules and new behavior for what's personal and what's private. But it is also true that the vast majority of mobile users frown on loud or private calls in public. But that same majority indulges in such calls themselves. Everybody is thinking that I am doing the right think but somebody else is wrong. It is an example of how technological change leads to social change.

The number of car accidents is rising with the number of cell phone users in the developed countries. Policy makers of Bangladesh can think in the line of developed countries regarding making rules to stop the use of cell phones in the public places and while in the driving sits. The mobile phones will remain a part of our life for a long long time. It will be great thing if we could make it more socially acceptable. To do that we can follow some simple rules-

1. Please keep the mobile off while in the business meeting, in interviews and meetings with co-workers or subordinates.

2. Please walk away from others, at least 10-feet away, who do not have any interest in your conversation.

3. Never talk in elevators, libraries, museums, restaurants, theaters, waiting rooms, places of worship, auditoriums or other enclosed public spaces, such as buses.

4. Please never start any emotional conversation in public.

5. Do not use loud and annoying ring tones that destroy concentration and eardrums.

6. Never "multi-task" by making calls while shopping, banking, waiting in line or conducting other personal business.

7. Keep all cellular conversations brief and to the point.

8. Tell callers when you're on a cell phone and where you are — so they can anticipate distractions or disconnections.

9. Demand "quiet zones" and "phone-free areas" at work and in public venues.

Experts commented that technology and manners are compatible. By following those simple rules a cell phone user can make life easier both for him and others. Writing a message can be a much better and cheaper option for Bangladeshi users while waiting in public places. The point is cell phone users must evolve by searching new alternatives. Sure, there are a handful of folks who must take calls no matter where, no matter what — say, CEO’s of big private organizations or expectant fathers. But virtually everyone can either turn on the vibrate option, or go for a secluded area before answering a call.