Not the best place to use a mobile phone?

This page considers where mobile phone use is not appropriate, or should be very discreet.

Why is this page in the Safety section?

Apart from the fact that it doesn't fit anywhere else, there is a reported case where a mobile phone user so irritated other people in a cafe with the ringing of his mobile phone that he was beaten to death by other diners. Let's hope that this was a one-off.

Inappropriate locations

At a theatre, concert, cinema or other place of entertainment, or in a meeting, you should not allow your phone to ring. Switch it off, or divert all incoming calls to your mobile's voice mail. Make sure that the ringer is disabled, even if you need to keep the phone switched on in case of an urgent text message you're expecting.

Similarly, in restaurants, offices and some other public places you should be careful that your phone use does not interfere with other people.

There is an increasing tendency for students at schools and colleges to carry mobile phones. This makes sense, as it provides a measure of security for the journey to and from the institution, as well as a means of keeping in touch with friends. However, a ringing phone can be a big distraction in lessons and lectures, and it is difficult to see any good reason why a mobile should be switched on during a lesson.

Loud voices

Fixed phones feed back some of the user's voice back to the earpiece, so they can hear what they are saying. This is called sidetone, but it is not normally used in mobile phones, because it can cause serious problems with echo.

Novice mobile phone users (and some more experienced ones) have a tendency to shout into the phone, particularly when they're in a noisy environment or if the mobile signal is poor. There really is no need for this. The microphone in a mobile handset is very effective, and well able to pick up a quiet voice. Shouting into the phone makes you sound stupid, irritates people around you, and really doesn't help.

Ring tones

Ring tones are meant to tell you that the phone is ringing. Handset makers give a few to choose between, so that you can tell that it's your phone ringing, not someone else's. The trouble is that users sometimes choose (or create) ring tones that are amazingly annoying, then fiddle with the handset so that it keeps making that noise!

Many handsets offer a vibrate facility, so that an incoming call makes it vibrate silently, which will disturb no-one. This is wonderful for discreet phone users.

Blather

Remember that if you are in a public place, people nearby may find it irritating to hear you discuss personal and domestic trivia. They may have a point...

See also [ Watch out! ]

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