One of the stories making the rounds on newswires today is a recent survey on cell phone etiquette, conducted by Kelton Research for Samsung Telecommunications America. The most notable aspect of the survey—which asked 1,000 U.S. teenagers and adults their opinion about various phone etiquette situations—is that what’s considered polite depends on what age group you’re in and where you live.
When asked, “Is it appropriate to answer or make a call on your cell phone in any of the following situations,” respondents gave answers summarized in the table below.
|
|
Teens (13-19) |
Adults (20-55) |
Seniors (56+) |
|
At a restaurant |
37% |
36% |
26% |
|
On a first date |
13% |
12% |
5% |
|
During a private conversation |
10% |
13% |
9% |
|
In a group setting (e.g. class, meeting) |
10% |
7% |
3% |
|
In a movie theater |
9% |
6% |
2% |
|
None of the above |
56% |
57% |
70% |
Looking at the numbers, I am not surprised to see that the percentage of people who said, in essence, “Yes, it’s polite,” drops off as you go up the age ranges. Also not surprisingly that drop-off is most significant when you move from the adult to the senior groups. (For the most part, teens and adults seem to be in agreement, with only a few percentages differential.)
This seems to indicate, as one would expect, that people who have used cell phones during more of their lives find usage of the devices acceptable in more situations.
What does surprise me is that a slightly lower percentage of teens than adults think it is okay to use a cell phone during a private conversation. Could it be that teens value such interactions just a bit more than adults?
I find the survey results encouraging because the percentages are so low. The highest number, in fact, is 37 percent for teens who think it’s okay to talk on the phone while at a restaurant—that’s only about one-third of respondents!
The survey also asked people to compare their own politeness to that of others, and to rank their own politeness when it comes to cell phone use. In the first case, there appears to be somewhat of a disconnect between how people perceive themselves and how they perceive others; 57 percent said they are extremely considerate of others when talking on the phone, but 51 percent said that the average person is not very considerate.
When it comes to ranking one’s own politeness by itself, the age group factor shows its face again. Seventy-nine percent of seniors say they are extremely considerate cell phone users, while only 32 percent of teens view themselves that way.
Finally, considerate cell phone usage also appears to be somewhat dependent on where you live. Among users who think it’s absolutely not appropriate to make or take calls in questionable situations, the percentages work out as follows:
|
West |
65% |
|
South |
60% |
|
Northeast |
56% |
|
Midwest |
56% |
So, it appears that if you value cell phone etiquette, you’re best off living in the Western part of the U.S.
Incidentally, people in different regions of the U.S. seem to be decently self-aware about their own politeness; the percent of respondents ranking themselves extremely considerate works out by region as follows:
|
West |
62% |
|
South |
56% |
|
Northeast |
53% |
|
Midwest |
58% |
It would be interesting to see an even larger survey, and to compare cell phone etiquette in the U.S. to other parts of the world. Maybe one of these mornings I’ll do a bit more research and see what I can find… in the meantime, here’s a question for you: are you a polite cell phone user?
