The worst smartphone faux pas
The smartphone may be the best gadget invented but it’s made some people adopt bad social habits. Smartphone etiquette has been made up on the fly as devices become an increasing part of our lives.
The thought of putting your phone ahead of a person was unheard of 10 years ago but now it happens several times a day.
While phone apps are designed to be addictive, there’s no excuse for bad behaviour.
If you’re doing any of the faux pas below it might be time to think about how your smartphone use is affecting other people.
Talking with the speaker on in a public place
No one wants to hear about your bad experience ordering coffee or how much you despise your coworkers.
Turn your speaker off and go old school by holding your phone up to your ear. A lot of people doing this are having video chats but that’s no excuse.
A pair of headphones saves everyone else from listening in.
Not muting your phone when going to bed
Being kept awake all night by a buzzing and beeping phone will put a strain on any relationship. Surely notifications from social media aren’t as important as your partner’s sleep?
Always mute your phone when using it in bed. The other option is to use the ‘‘do not disturb’’ function which limits notifications between certain hours but allows calls from certain numbers in case of an emergency.
Using your phone while in the company of others
This is the smartphone’s biggest negative impact on casual conversations. Having someone pull out their phone and start tapping and scrolling halfway through your sentence is crushing.
This is so common it even has a name – phubbing. It’ll take a big culture shift to stamp this out, but you can help by calling out anyone who does it to you.
If a good friend or partner does it regularly it may be worth having a chat and setting some rules.
Using someone else’s phone
brain. It contains thoughts, images, and items you don’t really want to share with anyone else.
Using someone else’s phone without their permission is a huge breach of their privacy. Don’t do it to anyone and make sure your phone is locked while not in use. Also, treat your device passcode like your credit card pin number – never share it with anyone.