Cellphones: With Great Power Comes Great Responsability

"What did I say?" - My parish priest during the third time a cellphone rang during that Mass.


Cellphones are amazing. Cellphones are convenient. Cellphones are also VERY annoying sometimes. No one has ever actually established a proper etiquette for cellphones, but there seem to be a few obvious rules...or at least they SHOULD be obvious.

1: "So then, I have this really important thing to tell you...um...are you even paying attention?"

If someone's trying to talk to you, the general rule is that it's rude to simply take a call in the middle of the conversation. At least without excusing yourself. For an example of how this rule applies, let's look at Bob & Rob:

BOB: ...look, I don't know why I've been trying so hard these last few weeks...
ROB: Wait, hold on, my phone just rang...hello? Blah blah blah blah...
BOB: ...........

I once saw a woman talk on her phone in the middle of a FlowerDay presentation. Apparently, she was under the impression that she wasn't interrupting anything, when in reality, I could hear her and I was on the other side of the crowd. Wonder how her child felt that mummy wasn't paying much attention to her celebration.



2: "Using cellphones can be hazardous to your health."

Believe it or not, the above statement is true during some situations. They include:

-Cars: One's attention span is drastically reduced when talking on a cellphone. There's a REASON why several laws seem to forbid it nowadays.

-Airplanes: Cellphones are prohibited on most flights nowadays because it can interfere with its wireless communications. While I have not heard of such an incident, it would certainly be a shame for a plane to crash all because of a guy who was using a cellphone.

-Hospitals: Cellphones can interfere with several equipment on site.

-I heard of a train crash situation in which the driver's last moments were apparently spent texting.

3: "We now ask you to take this opportunity to turn off your cellphones. Not ask, actually, DEMAND."

Related to point #1. The only thing more rude than to talk on your cellphone while someone is trying to talk to you is to talk on your cellphone when someone actually ASKED you to turn off your cellphone. This applies in movie theatres, masses, etc.


Besides, it's just very, VERY embarassing when your cellphone happens to ring in an inappropriate place in where EVERYONE hears your cellphone. I saw an unfortunate man who's cellphone rang in church. The priest actually stopped and made a joke about it before continuing. Ouch.


4: "If possible, can you please get OUT of the room before you talk? I actually don't care about your conversation."

No, I don't care that Tommy just got himself a new girlfriend. Actually, you're not even talking to me, so you might want to get out of the room before Tommy - who is just a few metres away and is actually looking at you with a weird look on his face - approaches you.

5: "Can you please speak a little softer? You're polluting the air."

Sometimes, rule #4 is just impossible. Understandable if you're on a bus or somewhere where it's hard to maneuver. But still, complaining about how crowded the bus is on your phone using a really loud voice isn't exactly the best thing to do.

I saw a man outside Scarborough Town Centre the other day who was talking via Bluetooth. Granted, he was outside the mall and as many people as he would inside of it. But he was still getting looks from various shoppers who were saying in their heads: "Why is this guy talking in such a loud voice anyway?"