Have you been that person? Your attending a major public event, in a meeting with your supervisor, or in church when suddenly your phone starts to ring (which is actually one of your favorite songs) or your messages keep going off with the famous Bing sound.  What do you do? Answer it? Mute it ? After reading this week's article When it is acceptable — or not — to use cellphones in public spaces by Lee Raine and Kathryn Zickuhr I have come up with a list that I think can help the world to know when and when not to answer the phone. It’s called “Don’t Be a Fool Always Go by Destini List When it Comes to Phone Etiquette:”

Don’t Be a Fool Always Go by Destini List When it Comes to Phone Etiquette.

1.      Lower your voice when taking calls in public

2.      Avoid personal topics when others can hear you

3.      Avoid taking calls when your already engaged face to face conversation. If you take a call, ask permission of the people with you

4.      Avoid texting during face to face communication

5.      Put your phone ringer’s on silent mode in theaters and restaurants

6.      Don’t light up your phone in theaters and restaurants

7.      Hang up and Drive (At any given time, about 3% of people driving are simultaneously talking on their phones)

8.      Acknowledge the delay (All phone calls involve latency, which means there’s a delay between when you speak and when the other person hears it.

9.      Don’t use Google Voice call screening with family and close friends

10.  Don’t blame the other person for a dropped call (if you make 100 calls per week, you can expect to experience between 2-4 dropped calls each week.

11.  Avoid looking things up during a conversation

12.  Avoid inappropriate profile pictures. (Facebook lets users synchronize Facebook contact information, including profile pictures with their cell phone address books. Many higher-quality phones show your picture on the screen when you call.

13.  Be mindful about Facebook tagging (When you snap a photo with your phone tag someone in it, you’re showing the picture to all of his Facebook friends)

14.  Observe the 10-foot Proximity Rule (Keep a distance of at least 10 feet from the nearest person when talking on a cell phone).

15.  If a game of phone tag goes on for 4 calls, it is within the boundaries of proper etiquette to end the game and stop calling. If one of the parties on a game of phone tag leaves a message that says, “Tag your it,” you are free to not return the call.

In addition to the above etiquette regarding cell phone use, some additional guidelines are helpful for younger mobile users:

1.      Please and thank you work like magic, even if you text them.

2.      Be charitable. Your phone is powerful tool that can help a kid stranded after school.

3.      Cell phone are also recorders, and text messages can end up on a Facebook page

4.      Choose your ring tone wisely (no annoying or vulgar tone, this goes for adults too).

5.      Always take calls from the person paying the bill.

When discussing cell phone manners with kids, consider the following opening questions:

1.      When should an incoming call take priority over the situation at hand?

2.      What if someone taking a call is just trying to impress others?

3.      What would happen if everyone had unbridled use of their cell phones-think of the chaos during dinner, birthday parties, holiday celebrations, or when watching a movie together.

4.      Would it be okay to let incoming calls interrupt conversation regarding values, discipline, or when reviewing the family calendar

Also, always Establish phone free times or zones where your children’s phones are out of mind. This can free them from the temptation of wondering if that important text has arrived.

The article I read also gave some great insight on when not to use cell phones. Some of things the article suggested are:

1.Roughly three-quarters (77%) of Americans say that it is “generally OK” to use a phone while walking down the street, and men are slightly more likely than women to say that cellphone use in this situation is acceptable (80% vs. 74%).Notably, this is the only activity for which young adults ages 18 to 29 are not necessarily more accepting than older age groups. Some 78% of young adults ages 18 to 29 say that using a phone while walking down the street is generally OK, while 82% of those ages 30 to 49 also say this.

2.Three-quarters (75%) of Americans say that it is generally OK to use a cellphone on public transportation. Men (79%) are more likely than women (71%) to say this was generally OK. Public transportation is one of the situations in which younger age groups are much more likely to say phone use is acceptable, compared with older adults: 90% of young adults ages 18 to 29 say that it is generally OK to use a cellphone on public transportation vs. 54% of those ages 65 and older.

3.Some 74% of Americans say it is generally acceptable to use a cellphone while waiting in line. Men (78%) are somewhat more likely than women (71%) to say it is generally OK to use a cellphone in this situation.

4. Overall, just 12% of Americans, including equal shares of men and women, feel that it is generally acceptable to use a cellphone at a family dinner. Some 13% of men say cell use at dinner is OK and 11% of women say this. Interestingly, people without smartphones are not especially more or less likely than smartphone owners to say it is generally OK to use one’s phone at a family dinner: 14% of regular cellphone owners and 19% of non-cellphone owners say that cell use in this situation is generally acceptable, compared with 10% of smartphone owners. For almost all of the other activities we asked about, smartphone owners are more likely to say that cellphone use in these situations is acceptable.

Phone etiquette is no joke. Take the time to educate family, friends, and yourself on how to handle tricky phone situations!

Destini