Cell Phone Usage in the 21st Century

Before there were cell phones as far as I can remember, it cost a dime to use a public pay phone. With the advanced technology in the late 90's to early 2000's, having a cell phone was beginning to be more like having an American Express card, one should never leave home without it. The elders of my time would argue that cell phones are a nuisance, while the Generation Xers of my time (including myself) would not concur believing that cell phones are a dire necessity. When one is in an emergency situation, I believe that cell phones are a great tool to have, but how and when we use them, that is a different issue.

Cell phone companies are not the least bit worried about cell phone etiquette. Their main concerns are worldwide competitive prices and making sure that one company is not creating too much business over the other. In recent years, there have been major mergers with cell phone companies. The reasons for these mergers are to create more business, increase customer satisfaction with the services and overall maintaining an increase in the telecommunications sector.

Many cell phone users are ranged in various ages. There is a cell phone on the market for everyone. But when it comes to cell phone etiquette, one needs to know that there is a time and place for everything. Meaning, that there is a time and place for everyone to talk and not during inappropriate times. (Roseberry)

Back in the earlier part of the millennium, I would ride the bus in New York City and notice that everyone had a cell phone. Children from elementary school age on up were on the bus chatting away as bus riders such as myself were too busy trying to make it home from work. The loud chatter from the adolescents seemed to be the norm and the increased knowledge of ring tone and music downloads along with two-way cell phones that are typically treated like walkie-talkies, were beginning to be a new phase of pop culture. But was it pop culture explosion or the fear of some parents wanting their children to have a cell phone since the tragedy of the terrorist attacks in New York and other states? Did parents realize that their own children would create some sort of havoc by experiencing the wrong time to send a text message or play loud music on a city bus packed with hard working citizens?

It never ceases to amaze me that children would innocently add insult to injury. Children do learn by example and with that said, it only goes to portray to one that the parents contribute to children's misuse of cell phones. There are numerous occasions where adults use their cell phone while driving. This method of driving and talking at the same time on the phone only attributes to the many accidents that are caused on the road due to lack of concentration. (Helperin)

In the latter years of the 2000's, many states have developed different methods to keep drivers from holding and talking on their cell phones while operating a motor vehicle. Not only is this dangerous to the driver, but too many innocent drivers and pedestrians that are within reach. Certain states such as New York took on their law to alleviate accidents. Even in Japan, studies have shown that cell phone related crashes were due to a driver dialing or answering their phones. The statistics are obvious to display the atrocities of what can really happen when a person is driving and talking on their cell phone without a headset or an earpiece. (Insurance Institute Highway for Safety).

Other minor cell phone rules are people who attend meetings. All too often, many meeting attendees interrupt a presentation or a conference due to an unforeseen phone call from a cell phone. Some people do not know or understand for that matter that it is annoying to have one's phone ring during an important meeting. Even text messaging or flipping through a Blackberry is rather bothersome to those that are really trying to hear their speaker. (Quinn)

The issue at hand is over 180 millions of Americans love their cell phones, but do not know how to demonstrate proper manners when it comes to using them. Certain rules of cell phone etiquette would be deemed common sense, but to most, one has to think, never considered doing that. Due to recent acts of terrorism that has occurred, many public places such as hospitals, libraries, churches and stores prohibit the use of cell phones. But, there is just that many few of the 180 millions of Americans who will continue to break these rules no matter what. A few ways to regard one's own surroundings when using a cell phone is to not talk too loud on the phone while present in a public place. It is annoying to some people who are either trying to get where they are going, enjoying a quiet dinner at a restaurant, or like myself, riding on a crowded city bus after a hard day's work, and just want to get home.

Works Cited

Melissa Cornick, How to Deal with the Jerk on the Cell Phone'20/20' Gets Tips on Cell Phone Etiquette, ABC News, Internet, March 12, 2005 http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Technology/Story?id=572148&page=1

Amy Cox, Where are your wireless manners?, CNN, Internet, October 18, 2005 http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/10/17/wireless.manners/index.html

Joanne Helperin, Driven to Distraction: Cell Phones in the Car The Debate Over DWY (Driving While Yakking), www.edmunds.com, Internet http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/safety/articles/43812/article.html The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, http://www.iihs.org/, Internet, 2008

Lydia Quinn, Basic Cell Phone Usage Etiquette, Internet, http://ezinearticles.com/?Basic-Cell-Phone-Usage-Etiquette&id=396322