"May I Please Take a Message?"

Long gone are the days that we take a message all we can do is leave one. With cell phones, blackberry's, and iphones our worlds have change and so has phone etiquette or the lack there of. I blame the lack of politeness on the speed of technology we seem to have a hard time evolving our personalities at the same speed. Though it may seem that it is common sense the ability to carry our phone conversations out of the house has made us forget we are out of the house. The manner in which you use your phone in the presence of others can really effect your relationships. If you are unable to pull yourself away from your phone your friends, family, or significant other, they can have doubts on their importance to you. Not to mention there are just a few inappropriate locations to be having a phone conversation out of respect to anyone; such as, when in the car with others, quite sitting areas/lobbies/waiting rooms, and lines to name a few. There are also some specific times that your should not be on your phone (this means, browsing the internet, texting, talking, e-mailing, or playing games) either that I will touch on in my bullets below. 

PHONES AND DATING

Your phone use can say a lot about you. I have not gone out on a second date with a person because they were addicted to their phone. I am not going to compete for attention with a phone. So what should you do with your phone on a date? Turn it off or at least put it on silent. Now don't freak out I know that I just took away your "something bad happened" and I have to leave immediately phone call. But if that is how you get out of a bad date than this is what I recommend. Leave you phone on, when you get you life saver phone call from your BFF answer it if you need it and if you do say " Oh, I am so sorry I forgot to turn this thing off. Now what were you saying again.". And just like that you have shown them you are polite and are interested in them. Fabulous! 

Phones of your significant other or new dating partner have been known to spike ones curiosity. But let me warn you this is dangerous territory... proceed with the greatest caution! A phones history can tell a lot about someone's activities it's true, that is why any of us have had an urge to take a peak. However this urge usually steams from a lack of trust or insecurity in a relationship. Though the information you may find may give you ammunition to kick them to the curb you should have just followed your gut and dumped them anyway. And if you happen to find nothing then you just broke the trust of your partner and they now have right to kick you to the curb. I have looked on a boyfriends phone once and swore I would never do it again. Trust is important and a two way street don't let this new invention become a reason you disregard it. And besides which you don't need to look on the phone to see... you'll know if they are getting inappropriate calls/text all the time at inappropriate times it is then you confront and if you suspect you are not getting the truth than ask to look at the phone. If they love you and your insecurities are untrue they should want you to feel better and let you take a peak.

THE MOVIES

Why am I bring up the movies... well because though we all know it is rude to even talk in the movies period and the movie screen even reminds us to turn off our phones, some of us don't seem to know that texting is inappropriate too. Have you noticed in the dark theater that bright light starts flashing around from a cell screen it is just down right distracting out of the corner of your eye. The theater is dark for a reason... so that you can get lost in a movie and forget you share this world with rude people. So stop chewing loudly, talking, and texting and just enjoy the movie you just paid money to go see!

THE UNATTENDED PHONE

Its vibrating of the table while blaring some crazy song that you cant even tell what it is cause it is too loud for the little speakers of the phone, your looking around and know-one is coming to attend to it... just as you start to think what you should do it stops. Phew! and then you hear... BEEP... and then once again a minute later... and again, and again... you can't ignore it...AHHHHH now what!

Silence it! most phones have a button you can push on the sides... just push them or if its a flip phone open it and shut it, you don't even have to look at the phone which is preferred; since my NUMBER ONE RULE OF AN UNATTENDED PHONE is to never answer it! Unless someone asks you too, don't! It is a huge invasion of privacy and you shouldn't do it know matter how well you know the person. Now the only time silencing a phone gets tricky is if it is in someone's bag, yicks, now what? Well you have a few options, though a jacket or something over it to muffle the sound, locate the person and let them know their phone is beeping, or stick in your ear phones and call it a day. 

Now if you are the one leaving your phone unattended then try to remember to silence it disarm any alarms that override the silence mode and for goodness sake if you are in the habit of leaving your phone laying around put a password on it for those who get curious, especially if it is a blackberry or something.

PHONE QUARRELS

I don't care if I don't know you or will never see you again... I don't want to hear you fighting, yelling, or using inappropriate language. My two best and recent examples of this take place in a public sitting area and in the waiting area at a gate in the airport. 

In the sitting area on my computer I was beginning to have a difficult time concentrating on my own task. There was only one other person in the same area as me and she was on the phone... yelling at her boyfriend about how she did not want to compete for attention from him with his mother. And then to my astonishment she also yelled that she wished his mother dead! Needless to say I had to eventually pack up my belongings and relocate but why she wanted me to here about how she was willing to stay with her boyfriend who clearly made her unhappy I'll never know.

At the airport I was reading a magazine I was quite interested in the article it was about shampoos and other hair care products. I once again was finding his hard to concentrate. Sitting two seats away was a girl who I swear swore every five words or so and very loudly. Everyone around could hear her because I soon noticed many people looking at her out of the corner of their eyes. 

LEAVE A MESSAGE 

Many people only have cell phones these days... if you use your cell number on your resume have an appropriate voicemail recording... your future employer will not be impressed with you burping "leave a message". Along with this same idea, as cool as the "please enjoy this music while you party is being reached" with slim shady it isn't professional either. 

Leave me a blog message and share your rude phone stories below. Hope you find this helpful or at least a little humorous.