Writings

Turn off the phone!

You know how you always complain when someone (specifically salesmen) call while you're enjoying a meal? Well, now with the advent of mobile phones (which are slowly replacing landline telephones), you can now easily turn them off! When you're in a situation where you don't want to be disturbed by a call or where it would be impolite to those around you to take a call, the sensible thing to do is to turn the phone off. However, it seems that this very simple idea is lost on nearly anyone with a mobile phone these days. Mobile phones are great for a number of reasons, but they have their place. Like any great tool, they can be improperly used. It seems while people have adopted these handy devices quickly in recent years, many have not considered when it is appropriate to have them on.

Recently, I was sitting down to dinner with some family. Sure enough, someone at the table had a mobile phone with him, and half way through the meal there was an incoming call. It gets better (well, worse). Actually, he did initially ask the caller to return the call later which I often do if a friend calls our landline phone at home during dinner. Later in the, there was another incoming call. Some of us had finished eating, so he took the call at the table. Actually, it wasn't a standard telephone call, it was a walkie-talkie communication. So, we all had an opportunity to hear the entire conversation as he sat at the table until he finally went to the other room. In another situation, I was in a seminar during which three rings were heard. I recall some time a few months ago during a church service when there was a ring during a solemn time of the service.

To make matters worse, newer mobile phones now support polyphonic, enhanced ring tones, a far cry from the simple rings that were heard from early mobile phones. To be perfectly frank, a simple ring, just loud enough to get your attention, is all that is necessary. A standard ring sound during a movie is annoying; a ring featuring a symphonic or pop tune is much worse, usually louder, and always more distracting. Yes, people do like to have unique rings to identify if it is their phone that's ringing. Though, the more obnoxious the ring, the more you need to be careful about when the phone is left on.

I move on to the subject of when to have the phone on. There are times when phones should be turned off completely, not on silent mode but off. Voicemail can be used in these situations in case you miss a call. Is it really so awful if you miss a call? Mobile phones are convenient so you can keep in contact everywhere, but for most people it is not imperative to be available by phone at any hour of the day. (Yes, there are some people for whom they are that important, but face it most of us do not get many calls of such a pressing nature) I would expect people to find mobile phones an intrusion since they can be contacted whenever they have the phone with them and left on. There are times when I don't want to answer the phone. Say I'm meeting with some friends or in some activity where disruptions would be impolite, inconvenient, et cetera. Many times the call can wait. If you're involved in something with other people, don't push them aside to answer the phone. I once saw two people walking together, each talking on a phone which seemed somewhat odd to me. I guess they didn't enjoy each others company very much.

Mobile phone users, please remember that there is a time and a place for these handy tools. Remember to turn them off when you go to the theatre, a concert, and any other situation where phones should be off. Perhaps the novelty of mobile phones has merely reached its peak and has not yet faded, especially with a large number of kids having them. Either way, remember to exercise proper etiquette when it comes to your mobile phones.