11 minute read
Seems to Me
Mobile Communication
Is it only rude if someone else is doing it?
Friends and I were chatting over dinner in a restaurant. A man at the next table told his cell-phone caller to hold on. Then he stepped outside to talk. When he returned, I said, “That was very thoughtful.”
“I had no choice,” he nodded and said to me. “You were making too much noise.”
Survey findings show that a vast majority — in excess of 90 percent — say they have seen others misuse mobile technology, while less than 20 percent admit to their own poor mobile behavior.
I must admit that it is a pet peeve of mine for someone’s cell phone to ring in the middle of a meeting or in certain public places. Needless to say, it was like a slap in the face when my Android mobile phone rang audibly in a meeting of county officials at the Association of Arkansas Counties on Thursday morning, Nov. 20, 2014. Yes, I remember exactly when it was because I had broken one of my cardinal rules. I had not silenced my phone before going into the meeting. I quickly exited the room as quietly as possible and took the phone call in the hallway.
It was much more difficult to stay focused on the rest of the meeting since the phone call was from a fishing buddy who wanted to go crappie fishing that afternoon. I was three hours away and there was no way I could make that crappie fishing outing. Oh well, I had work to do anyway … and I digress.
We live in a world of trendy communication tools — a time quite different than the days of my youth [no that was not a millennium ago]. When I gave the salutatory address at my high school graduation almost 43 years ago I talked about “Creative Power.” In part of that speech I spoke about the creative power that had been expended in the previous 75 years to create, invent or extensively develop various things in the field of transportation; in communications; in agriculture; in medicine; and in inventing and developing electrical appliances and machinery for the home and office. I went on to say in that speech, “Just as surely as creative power has been instrumental in revolutionizing and completely transforming all the major phases of living here in America, so will that same creative power be used to revolutionize present standards in an even greater way in the 75 years ahead.”
Little did I know at the time just how accurate that statement was! Technology has “mushroomed” over the past 40 years. Today’s technology, if used properly, is key to success. Most of us today have smartphones — a mobile phone with an operating system. Smartphones include the features of a phone along with things like a personal digital assistant (PDA), a digital camera, a media player, and a GPS navigation unit. And the list continues with the features of a touchscreen computer, including web browsing, Wi-Fi, third-party apps and mobile payment. You may use an Android, or maybe an iPhone or a BlackBerry. Technology tools include e-mail, instant messaging and e-faxing. And for those who want face-to-face communication there is telepresence and ooVoo. I recently became aware of Dropbox file sharing. Dropbox is a file hosting service — that “cloud storage” you hear about. I keep trying to figure out where that cloud is and what it looks like. How much of a good thing is too much? Or do we just need to learn a little more about technology etiquette?
Marshal McLuhan, in his 1964 book Understanding Media: the Extensions of Man, coined the phrase “The medium is the message.” This was a time when a bit belonged in a horse’s mouth, a bite was what a dog did and a BlackBerry was a fruit used to make jelly, jam and cobblers. Things have changed. Today’s communication devices make the way we transmit and receive information almost more relevant than what we have to say.
The obsession with how we communicate has developed into fashion statements. Some people change communication devices as often as they change socks. Just look at our 21st century telephone (to use an archaic term). Cell phones started off rather large. Then they became tiny. Now they’re getting larger again. They are sometimes modified to fit body shape. Deputy Barney
Seems To Me...
Eddie A. Jones County Consultant
75 Counties - One Voice
Fife would have checked himself into rehab if he had seen someone from Mayberry walking through Crowley’s Market jabbering away into a Bluetooth headset.
We are so wound up communicating instantaneously that we often don’t pay attention to what we say. Or worse, we communicate for communication’s sake. Just think of the meetings you’ve attended where people who have waited in silence for hours suddenly have to make and receive telephone calls “that just can’t wait.”
Remember those times you’ve sat down to eat at a restaurant and suddenly half of the diners have to take or make a call to Uncle Joe and Aunt Josie and vividly recount the nuances of recent hemorrhoid surgery? Or the golfer in the foursome whose smartphone rings every other hole or dings with an email or text? Alexander Graham Bell should be turning in his grave!
Like the man who was starving and forgot his manners, instant communication is making the human race a bit less civil. How many public gatherings have you attended or meetings have you sat down to that have been interrupted by those irritating ring tones? Or better still, you’re at the dinner theatre with your spouse and the woman beside you has a purse from which reverberates Andy Williams crooning “Moon River.”
Our global access isolates us even in crowded situations. Conferences designed to bring together people with common business — like our various county official association meetings or legislative sessions — often dissolve into dozens of likeminded individuals squawking into smartphones, totally oblivious to the colleague three feet away.
Speakers often encounter audiences divided into cell phone users and text message senders. If Abraham Lincoln had to deliver his Gettysburg Address today, there probably would not be enough people paying attention to the speech to warrant copying down his words.
Communication in real time has been a human goal since our ancestors first drew on cave walls. History itself is full of blunders that occurred because of untimely information. Imagine if Andrew Jackson and his British counterparts British Army Gen. Edward Pakenham and Royal Navy Adm. Alexander Cochrane at New Orleans had cell phones or e-mail. They would have found out the War of 1812 was over and the peace treaty had been signed two weeks earlier. Jackson would have been deprived of a great military victory; Jimmy Driftwood, an Arkansas high school principal and history teacher, would not have written that neat song “Battle of New Orleans” that Johnny Horton recorded and won the 1959 Grammy Award for Best Country and Western performance; and a couple of thousand British soldiers would not have had such a bad day.
Popular entertainment took communications to icon status. Dick Tracey hunted down bad guys using his 2-Way Wrist Radio while Captain Kirk used his communicator to have Scotty “beam” him up to the Starship Enterprise. And then there was Agent 86 Maxwell Smart who consistently goofed things up in his fight against the evil forces of KAOS, but by using his “shoephone” his partner, Agent 99, always managed to bail him out of his disasters. Life does imitate art. American composer and songwriter Cole Porter once musically mused, “a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking. But now, anything goes.” If Mr. Porter was to point his composing at today’s mobile digital culture, the “glimpse of stocking” might have been “text while walking.” The whole concept of “mobile etiquette” may be looked upon with a bit of snarkiness by today’s mobile generation. No one in a group of Gen X’ers gathered around a table all on their smartphones would consider any of the others rude. As Mr. Porter implies, as times change so do societal behavioral norms. But I believe it should always be the norm to be polite — never rude. Surveys concerning mobile etiquette seem to uncover the unwillCell phones are ubiquitous; they are everywhere. And although most users think they have good mobile manners, many people reingness of people to admit their own misuse of mobile technology while pointing the “accusation finger” at most others. But that does not make the statement, “It’s only rude if someone else is port being irritated or annoyed by the use doing it,” true. The truth is, if it’s rude for someone else, of the phones in public places. it’s rude for you, too. Cell phones are ubiquitous; they are everywhere. And although most users think they have good mobile manners, many people report being irritated or annoyed by the use of the phones in public places. Clearly there’s a lack of understanding of what is and is not acceptable in terms of cell phone etiquette. I’m not going to start a long list of do’s and don’ts because I believe good cell phone etiquette is similar to common courtesy. Conversations and text exchanges have a tendency to distract people from what’s happening in front of them. Cell phone users should be thoughtful, courteous and respectful of the people around them. I don’t propose that we become communication Luddites. Instant information access saves lives, builds economies, helps us perform our jobs more efficiently and contributes to our general well being. However, there are times when we should turn off the technology and re-engage in face-to-face conversation. There are other times when we need to cease the information flow and just be silent for a while. One of my favorite Old Testament scriptures is one of the Psalmist David, “Be still and know …” See “CHANGING” on Page 22 >>>
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— something we ought to do more often. I have that reminder, in art form, hanging on my office wall.
Certain locales should be off-limits to instant access. These include entertainment venues, places of worship, restaurants and any gathering that has a guest speaker. The beautiful thing about cell phones and similar implements of communication is that they have this wonderful service known as voicemail. And generally, unless it’s a case of medical emergency or national security, those oh-so important calls and text messages can be placed on hold for a few more minutes.
Marshall McLuhan’s observation about the medium — whether it be an iPhone, Android, BlackBerry or other trendy, albeit useful, device — becoming more important than the message, may be true. However, that does not mean that the device should be more important than the message being delivered. Nor does it mean that an individual should use
the device to the annoyance of others. While instant information is important, utilization of the device supplying the information should be done in a manner that shows respect to those around you. This little step of courtesy is a big step in improving communication for everyone. Because of our lack of mobile courtesy, some are going to the The beautiful thing about cell phones and similar impleextreme to stop the phones ringing. An Italian priest, annoyed by ringing cell phones, installed a jamming device in his church. ments of communication is that they He said that asking nicely didn’t work. Father Michele Madonna have this wonderful service known forked out the cash to install the gadget inside the Santa Maria Chapel in downtown Naples. as voicemail. He said he was fed up with the constant ringing and beeping of phones during his sermons. Voltaire said, “To succeed in the world, you must also be wellmannered.” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Life is not so short but that there is always time for courtesy.” Good things to remember when using our modern technology.
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