Cellular phones are considered a necessary evil in today’s society. It helps us keep in touch with our loved ones at a moment’s notice even when a regular telephone is unavailable. The technologies packed into the instrument no longer than a cigarette and as thin as a calling card allows anybody to telecommute and keep up in touch with all our business associates on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week basis. It is because of this constant connectivity that the dynamics of polite etiquette in the 21st century society has changed. Using the cellular phone in public is as considered normal, although sometimes, there are places and situations wherein its use is deemed inappropriate. One of these places where the use of the cellular phone is frowned upon is during meal times most especially in restaurants.
Restaurants are usually places where people go to relax and have a quiet meal. For families, it is the place where everybody can bond and catch up with one another’s lives. Business people use this time to close or discuss important business deals. Therefore, when a cellular phone rings or vibrates in the middle of a meal and the owner takes the call, it shows a great amount of disrespect for the person or people that one is having a meal with. Personally, I believe that it delivers the message that there is someone else more important than you that I have to attend to. Meal times, especially in restaurants should not be a multi-tasking chore. Restaurant food is to be enjoyed, not wolfed down because you received a cellular phone call. Additionally, the ringing of the phone with various ring tones also disrupts the meals of the others in the restaurant whose mealtimes are rudely interrupted by a person rushing by behind or in front of him trying to get a good connection or signal.
I believe that cellular phone usage should only be used in times of emergencies when in public or when the parties present at the restaurant have been informed beforehand that I or somebody in the party is expecting a cellular phone call. Once that phone call comes in, I would expect that the person keep his phone on vibrate so as not to disturb the people around him and the other restaurant patrons as well. It would also be prim and proper for the person to excuse himself from the table and take the call outside of the restaurant as a sign of respect for the people he is with as well as the others who might be disturbed by the call.
There are many more reasons to ban cellular phone use in restaurants. But for the benefit of this paper, I would like to present the aforementioned reasons as the main reasons that I have in favor of supporting that action. I agree with all the people who say that cellular phones should be banned in restaurants and most public places because there is a time and place for everything and mealtimes have been respected as private time for people that should never be interrupted for any reason as far back as I can remember. Proper etiquette has always dictated that people conduct themselves properly when in public and while using the telephone. The use of the cellular phone falls under the same regulations and must be adhered to at all times because technological convenience does not give us the right to be rude in public.
In conclusion, there are many more reasons to ban cellular phone use in restaurants. But for the benefit of this paper, I would like to present the abovementioned reasons as the main reasons that I have in favor of supporting that action.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The purpose of these essays is to inform people about the dangers of cell phone use. Not that the cell phones are physical dangerous, but a warning of the effects on human behavior. As I began reading the essays “Our Cell Phones, Our Selves, by Christine Rosen and Disconnected Urbanism by Paul Golderger, I knew which direction the authors were heading. Within the first few sentences Christen Rosen, talks about how the cell phone is changing our behavior and how we are becoming disconnected with society. The authors achieved their goal by staying on the topic from start to finish describing how it is destroying interpersonal communication and the way it is eroding our society.…
- 678 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In this article, David Carr states that technology has made it “fashionable to be rude.” Carr uses the example of a party to prove his point. If you are having a conversation with another individual and they keep looking over your shoulder, they are being impolite. But if instead they are looking into their phone screens, they are not being rude, because it has become a normal thing for our society to do. Always looking at our phones has lessened our chances for human interaction.…
- 265 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Should cell phones be banned in privately owned businesses? Since cell phones became popular in the mid nineties, their uses have expanded drastically: from rudimentary functions such as calling and texting, to 3-D video games and access to the internet. Some might argue that these new features can cause more harm than good, especially in a privately owned businesses, but I think that these features can actually improve the experience of the people in those spaces. Cell phones should not be banned in privately owned businesses because they can improve the customer’s experience, benefit the business, and potentially save a life.…
- 789 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In today's society, a person can not go into a restaurant without hearing a cell phone ring or seeing someone making a call. It is very rude especially to the poor person sitting at the table with the cell phone user. This person is probably offended because he or she is being ignored. "Forty-two percent of adults say they have made or received a call while dining in a restaurant," according to the National Restaurant Association (Yost A1). In some restaurants, the menu states to set cellular phones to vibrate or off, although few people ever do. At Perry's Deli in Chicago, a prominent sign states: "The use of cellular phones at Perry's is strictly prohibited. If you are that important that you must use your phone, you should be eating in a much more upscale restaurant"("Phil's Places" 27).…
- 561 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
First, with today's society cell phones are as familiar as our keys and wallet are to us. We leave the house our cell phones go with us. We relay on them for everything from simple communication to getting from point a to point b. We have become so dependent and…
- 653 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In today’s society, most people communicate using of cell phones. Just 15 to 20 years ago, cell phones were a rarity for the average person. The average income person could not afford a cell phone. Today, cell phones are affordable and the majority of people own them. The days of waiting until you are home to use a telephone or searching for a pay phone if you are out are long gone. In fact, pay phones are being removed, which increases the need for a cell phone. The government will provide a cell phone with limited monthly service for those that are low income and meet certain criteria. The cell phone has also created people to feel the need to be accessible to constant communication. The major problem lies with cell phone use while driving, which presents a constant danger on the road. In many instances, it is a deadly danger.…
- 614 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
How many times are we at a restaurant and we see people at the same table all looking at their phones?’ ” My first phone was at the age of eighteen and I can relate to this completely. At every class, doctor’s appointment, restaurant, you name it, people sat around with their phones in their hands. Now that I have a phone of my own, I catch myself doing the same. This type of socialization is not what we should be so attached to.…
- 1688 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
When walking around at the mall, work, or at a college campus, every person has a cell phone out texting, playing a game, or on social media sites, instead of paying attention to the world around them. Cell phones are not just a privilege in people’s lives anymore but have become a necessity in order for people to function on a daily basis. Cell phones have many…
- 1306 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Have you ever been driving down the street and noticed a driver using his/her cell phone while driving? In the article “Cell Phones & Social Graces” written by Charles Fisher, examples were given of people using their cell phones in a rude fashion. People using their phones in a selfish behavior can cause a careless way of acknowledgement to their surroundings and others. Cell phones can also work as a distraction being forced away from something that needs our outmost attention. Fisher has given examples of social graces of when to use a cell phone in public, for instance domestic problems were addressed at home and not in public. These types of actions have come to bother those whom are surrounded…
- 1191 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
It is nearly impossible to walk into any public place without seeing at least one person talking or texting on their cell phones. Cell phones have become such a part of our everyday life it’s hard to imagine a world without them. Cell phones not only have become part of our lives, for some people they are their life. What I mean by that is you can tell a lot about a person by how they use their cell phone, what type of cell phone they have including brand, color, and style yet still there are even more cultural ideologies associated with cell phones that I am going to look at in this paper.…
- 949 Words
- 4 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Cell phones continue to make a big impact on the society. If you look around the next time you are running errands, there is a very good chance the majority of people are on their cell phone. It seems as if cell phones are now controlling…
- 399 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
All Cell Phone ban: No state bans all cell phone use for all drivers, but 37 states and D.C. ban all cell phone use by novice or teen drivers, and…
- 1399 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Does the increase of cell phone usage have a negative impact on how people behave in public? Most people get so bent out of shape when they see someone on a cell phone especially while driving. Some people do not care either way because they just keep to themselves. It does have a negative impact on people because it distracts people while driving, people do not pay attention where they walk while on their phone, and how people view other people on cell phones.…
- 712 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Nowadays, people are glued to their cell phone. The amount of commotion that would be produced from the ban is insurmountable. Banning the use of cellphones in restaurants is acceptable for it is rude to the service of the company but nonetheless, the need for a cell phone is uncanny and very important. Theaters may ban the use of cell phones during a movie but, please explain how a child would contact his parents for pickup. Finally, Cell Phones should not be banned because businesses would lose profit.…
- 520 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In today’s society many states have been concerned on the usage of cell phones while driving. This topic has been viewed by many, and discussed by multiple legislators, policemen, the federal government an, legal drivers. Their view on this issue is to not to ban the usage of cell phones, but to make it a law in every state. For instance, there is a good amount of states that have prohibited drivers from using cell phones handheld while driving. However, there are other states who agree to disagree. Meaning, there are some states whereas cell phones are banned but the police aren’t enforcing the law. So until legislators banned the use of cell phones the percentage of the death rate will rise. In conclusion, with those given points I will argue that all states in America should outlaw the usage of cell phones while driving.…
- 1270 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays