It probably wouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that by 2003 just over half of all Americans owned a cell phone. That’s more than 150 million people. In fact, more people use cell phones in this country than use the Internet – 62 percent as opposed to 59 percent.
Cell phones have come a long way since the first one was sold in 1984. Initially, cell phones were black brick-sized objects primarily used by businessmen. Now cell phones are tiny, sleek, multifunctional marvels of technology with cameras, Internet access, musical ring tones and more. Cell phones are owned by children as well as adults.
They are changing the communication landscape in our society.
Cell phones make us more accessible; we can make and take phone calls anytime anywhere. Gone are the days of hunting for a public phone booth to make a call. It’s enormously convenient and reassuring to own a cell phone. They enable us to stay in touch with our social circle. They are handy in case of an emergency.
But the story of the development of this communication technology isn’t all good. Increasingly, what have traditionally been private conversations are taking place in public.
It is amazing what some people discuss on their cell phone in public, only to hang up and act as though their conversation was private. These conversations can be enormously annoying and intrusive to those within earshot.
Why do these private conversations keep happening in public? Researchers have come up with several explanations. Some suspect that people making public cell phone calls may be treating those around them as a secondary audience. People on cell phones direct their conversation to the person they call as well as to those in the general vicinity. For some extroverted people, this seems plausible enough, but it doesn’t apply to everyone using a cell phone in public.
Other researchers believe that hearing one side of a cell phone conversation creates a “need to listen” effect in those who hear it. Plain human nature and eavesdropping might cause us to fill in the blanks for the side of the conversation that we can’t hear. It’s still annoying to listen to someone on their cell phone despite the explanation for this effect. After all, it’s going on within earshot, and we don’t have much choice but to listen.
Why do some people have no shame in discussing private matters on a cell phone in public?
My favorite explanation for this phenomenon was supplied by communication specialist Leopoldina Fortunati. Fortunati found that we all occupy our physical space, but we also occupy virtual space by way of our thoughts and brain activity. When we talk to someone on a cell phone, we are standing or sitting somewhere, in our physical space, making the call. We are also connecting to that person by cell phone through virtual space. We are thinking of that person and connecting to them via our conversation. In concentrating on our phone call, we are less aware of our surroundings and anyone else in the area. We are in our virtual space. It is possible to forget there are other people around and to wind up saying things we might not normally say in a public place.
Fortunati also points out new rules of etiquette are needed for public cell phone calls. Some of these rules would seem to be obvious. First, don’t make a cell phone call in a place where a normal-toned, face-to-face conversation would be inappropriate, like a library or a movie theater while the movie is running. Second, turn off the cell phone ringer in the classroom or in a public performance. Third, don’t discuss intimate subjects in public that you wouldn’t want your own mother to overhear.
Cell phones are facing a backlash. Some states have created new laws to legislate cell phone etiquette. New York City has banned cell phones in some public places and people who ignore this law pay a $50 fine. Building systems have been developed that can jam cell phone signals so no one can use their phone inside.
Cell phone use has had consequences unforeseen when the first one was sold in 1984. Perhaps, with the inevitable improvement in the technology, etiquette for cell phone use will not have to be legislated or built into public places. Maybe areas will be developed where people can step away to have a particularly personal cell phone conversation. Already, there are “business centers” at many airports that allow travelers to step into a semi-private place to work or make calls.
As cell phone technology continues to advance and efforts to thwart poor etiquette follow suit, it will be fascinating to see where it all goes.
Jo-Anne Walton is a senior majoring in communications at the University of Southern Maine. This essay was adapted from a paper she presented during “Thinking Matters: A Student Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Symposium” in April. Walton is a nontraditional student, who works full-time and has one teenage son.
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