They’re ubiquitous and entertaining. A pacifier for uncomfortable moments in time where we wait. A companion to assuage insecurities we have about being out in public. I’m guilty of it. We all are at times.
Mobile phones are our current sidekicks. The Hutches to our Starsky lives. The Tonto in our Lone back pocket or purse. Unfortunately our Kato, both in O.J. and Green Hornet terms, have started mouthing off in public, and are distracting those around us.
Take a look at these friendly suggestions. Are you guilty of one or many of these social faux pas?
• If you are wearing a Bluetooth earpiece while having a conversation with a live person, please remove it from your ear.
• If you must have your mobile phone on the table of a restaurant or coffee shop, please place it face down.
• If you answer your phone with other people around, please get up and move to an area devoid of people. Even if you crouch down lower in your seat, thinking that will make your conversation more private, it won’t. We can still hear you.
• If you continue to have a conversation on your phone when it’s you‘re in the checkout line at the grocery store, the clerk and those behind you in line now despise you.
• If your phone ringtone blasts hip-hop, please don’t stare at the screen for 15 seconds deciding if you should answer it.
If we all make the effort to be more aware of those around us, it might become a little less hostile and a little more welcoming for us to utilize our Lacey in those Cagney social situations.
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