Phone manners

Texting one friend while talking to another is like playing your favorite sport without adhering to the rules of the game. ‘But these are my friends,’ you might say. All the more reason to be mannerly. Not that you have to become perfectly formal. But here is a fact of life: If you are not showing good manners with your friends, sooner or later they will no longer be your friends.


Why is that so? Because people do not like to be treated rudely. Wouldn’t it be annoying if you were talking to a friend and they keep checking their phone like if they were waiting for something better to happen? How long do you think you will tolerate having a friend like that? As you can see, manners can get complicated. But some advice can help. If you want your friends to be nice to you be nice to them.


Text only at appropriate times. You may sometimes receive a text message really late at night and it won’t even be for anything important, and it disturbs your sleep! Ask yourself, Do I text people at times when they might be resting?


Check your tone. Communication is carried by words, voice tone, facial expression, and body language. Unfortunately, most of those elements are missing when you text. So how can you compensate? Use common manners. Ask, ‘How are you?’ and use words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’


Be discerning. Don’t make texting a challenge. If you are expecting an important message, it might be necessary to excuse yourself from a conversation. Often, though, the message can wait. Your phone will still be there when your friend has finished talking, but your friend may not be there when you finish texting. You can use similar discernment when at a gathering. Don’t text the whole time. That tells people, ‘I don’t care about your company; I’d rather be somewhere else.’


Think before you hit the send button. Might your text message be misunderstood? Would emoticons help convey the right feeling? If you’re joking about something, putting a smiley face might help. People get their feelings hurt and fights can even start because they take a lighthearted remark to be serious.





Clearly, your cell-phone manners really matter! In a world where e must keep up with changes in technology it is that we do not forget to use these things correctly.