Cell Phone Etiquette
Last Wednesday, my wife and I had the opportunity to go to New York City, to Carnegie Hall, to see my nephew graduate from medical school. As you might expect, it was a day filled with pride, and of nostaligic memories when he was young contrasting with the purposeful stride of the young man introduced as “Doctor” when he walked across the stage to accept his diploma.
One of the things I noticed however, was that three times during the ceremony, people’s cell phones went off.
Now, don’t get me wrong. You all know I’m a techno-geek, and that I wouldn’t be without my cell phone. But, there is a time and place for everything.
My idea of cell phone etiquette in public gatherings/ceremonies is as follows:
- If you do not need your cell phone on (i.e., you are not on-call, you do not have someone calling you in an emergency) then turn it off. That’s what voice mail is for.
- If you need your cell phone on, because work, or your young children, or their babysitter might need to contact you, turn it on vibrate.
- If you do need to take a call, answer it QUIETLY, and either tell them you’ll call them right back, or quietly move to an area where you will not distrub someone.
I think if more people did that, then less people would hate cell phone users.
So, my nephew Marc is now a doctor, and will very shortly begin his surgical residency. I hope for his sake, no one has their cell phone on in the operating room!
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