Here’s a draft charter for non-anti-social use of mobile phones:
1. It has been scientifically proven that ring tones suck badly and are not necessary. Ditch the electronic mozart. I have my phone on vibrate permanently and have never missed a call because of it – or if I have, I was quite pleased about it. Remember – you might think it’s cool to play Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in sine wave tones at top volume in a train but chances are, other people probably think you are sad. Ring tones for SMS’s are doubly bad.
2. Face to face encounters take precedence unless you have genuine reason to expect that an urgent call is pending.
3. Don’t have loud conversations in public. Forcible eavesdropping can be entertaining but as a rule, we don’t want to know. Or if we do, perhaps your ex-boyfriend doesn’t want us to.
4. If you do have a loud conversation in public of any sort, make sure you tell everyone the juicy details.
5. Don’t alter your conversation to show off. “I love you so much.”
6. Tell your conversation partners not to ask where you are as it is almost never relevant – and remember – all the other people in the bus/train/plane know where we are….
If you’ve ever paid money for a ring-tone – please leave me a message to explain why anyone would do such a thing.