Cell Phone Madness. Review on General Tips on Cell Phones

Everyone has cellphones these days, even the ones that say that they dont like cellular phones have them. For the most part, it has revolutionized communication, but in other ways, it has made things more complicated.

Yes, I'm a cell phone owner. Yes, I do believe, just like everything else, that there are right and wrong ways to conduct ourselves when we use our phone. These are some of the things I observed, and some that I am actively practicing to improve.

Know when to turn it off- I have heard cell phones ring at church, at the movies, in the library, in class, in funerals, in just about any venue you can possibly imagine. There are times when we forget, but we should make it a habit to check our devices before we enter venues or places where its particularly important that our cells don't ring.

Whenever, I go to a meeting and I'm expecting an important call, I usually tell them before the meeting starts that we may be interrupted by a phone call.

Talking loudly in public places- Take a message, most voicemails are equipped with an answering service. People dont need to know that your brother-in-law's affair with his married college professor had led to complications with the pregnancy. But the only thing more annoying than a cell phone ringing in the movies, is when the person actually answers it. For the most part, the information is something that we can deal with later. We were able to do it before the advent of cell phones, and we should be able to deal with them now.

Driving and Safety- When it comes to driving and safety, cell phone use go beyond what we are annoyed with. What is at stake are people's lives, so its important that we learn how to--and how not to--deal with driving and cell phones. (yes, I'm a guilty culprit before too...) Talking w/o handsfree is an absolute dont. Especially in urban places where children can dart out at you at any minute and pedestrians walk around like they're going somewhere. Then there are bicycles, motocycles, etc. etc. Talking on a hands free device minimizes---but not eliminates the hazard! We are still driving while we are distracted.

As a caller- Someone once called five consecutive times just to get an answer on the cell phone. My guess is that the call is important. Callers, which means all of us, should be aware that for the most part, the cell phone owner is not in any position to answer the phone. If the person did not answer the call, there are two possibilities that we should consider: one is that the person has screened us out and does not want to talk, the other is that the person wants to talk but not able to. So why call over and over again?

I think that all of us cell phone users, yes, again including myself, should take a long, hard look at the responsibilities brought by ownership. We cannot just enjoy the convenience without taking ownership of the responsibilities. After all, there are more important things at stake here.