by Heather Teshera,?Senior Opinon Writer
When did it happen? How did text messaging become the primary means of communication for our generation? Actually, I really don?t care too much about its history. What I really want to know is how we became so rude in our cell phone communication. Did it take over so fast that we skipped ?cell-phone-manners 101??
I know I am not the Emily Post of cell phone etiquette, and I?m not a part of the cell phone politeness police. I have messed up and have shown bad taste in my own cell phone usage many times. I can say with confidence that we need to learn and practice better cell phone manners.
Cell phone manners derive from the basic manners our parents taught us as children. When I was little and first learning manners, cell phones were those big brick-like things we now only see on old re-runs of ?Full House? and other 90s TV shows. The idea of using mobile phones for something other than an emergency or a brief conversation with those limited minutes did not become a reality until I was a school-age child with a good grasp on basic manners. My parents never specifically taught me how to be polite when using a cell phone like they did with our home phone.
Some people couldn?t care less about text messaging protocol. Others are unaware that a protocol actually exists. Many students text constantly throughout chapel and class or as they walk here and there and go hither and yon. Then there are those who text like the phone is glued to their hands and their thumbs are Energizer Bunnies, unable to stop. A few hide their phones, trying to be discreet as they send a quick message every now and again, but many more seem oblivious to the people around them as they skillfully manipulate that tiny keypad.
Interacting politely in a one-on-one conversation is simple enough for most people. When you converse with more than one person, particularly friends, formality and politeness can diminish. With more going on around you, attention to detail drops, and it is not hard to miss subtle hints or even complete sentences. However, even if slightly distracted, it still works for us, so we accept such behavior in our society.
It stops working, however, when basic manners are broken. If I am telling you something important, and in mid-sentence your eyes drop to the little phone buzzing in your hand, I am going to feel frustrated. I will certainly be aggravated if you immediately respond to that message. I would feel the same way if some random person barged in on our conversation and interrupted me, and you gave him the time of day. I would feel exactly the same if I were giving a speech, and you turned to the person next to you and began whispering away. I have and will find other people to spend time with if this behavior becomes habit.
Perhaps I have a higher standard for cell phone etiquette than what our society deems polite. Even so, here are my suggestions for knowing whether texting someone is polite or not. At times I pretend I have a crossword puzzle with me; if I could work on it without seeming rude, then it will not seem rude to text. Other times I imagine that the person I want to text is standing next to me. If I could politely whisper or talk to the person, then it is fine to text them. Finally, if I could turn my back on the person speaking, plug my ears, tap my toes and not offend them, then by all means I text away.
Thankfully, awareness is the first step to change. By recognizing how I feel when I am around rude texters, I have made a conscious effort to remember the basic manners I learned ever so long ago. Yes, I still mess up, but I hope I am improving.
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