The modern rules of phone etiquette have been set out in a new guide – with texting during a face-to-face conversation and chatting at the checkouts among the biggest faux pas.
Tweeting in a religious gathering, writing in caps and putting too many ‘x’ kisses were among the top no-nos, along with drunken texting and comedy ringtones.
Overuse of emoticons, abbreviations such as ‘LOL’ and attention-seeking ‘selfies’ are also now frowned upon, it emerged.
Constantly checking your phone, being on a tablet or texting during a film and a general lack of conversation because of staring at a screen were also cited among common irritations.
The Talk Talk Mobile study also found nearly half of all people surveyed admitted to having text, emailed or called someone on the toilet.
Jo Bryant, expert at etiquette institute Debretts, said: ‘Mobile phones allow us to communicate instantly, with ease and spontaneity, but as the survey results show, consideration for others is essential for good mobile phone manners.
‘People in the flesh deserve more attention than a gadget, so wherever possible do not allow your phone to distract you in face-to-face situations.’
The findings were uncovered as part of a study into the nation’s mobile phone habits to unearth the ultimate mobile ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’.
Good practice was texting a partner a ‘goodnight’ message, avoiding drunken texting and leaving it at least two days before texting after a date.
Texting a partner to update on plans, avoiding texting when angry and steering clear of trivial small talk were also found to be other good rules to go by.
The study also found an unlucky one in ten has sent a text talking about a person to the person they were talking about by mistake leading to awkwardness.
While four in ten people have completely misinterpreted a poorly written text – with people not understanding sarcasm the most likely pitfall.
And the study unveiled the expectations of people when it comes to how long a can wait to text back before it seems rude – one in seven Brits expects a response within the hour before they get impatient.
But once 24 hours elapses without a reply, 85 per cent of people think it’s a sign they are being ignored and will take insult.
More than a fifth of those surveyed thought their own phone manners may be in need of improvement and more than six in ten had someone who regularly irritates them.
Dan Meader of TalkTalk Mobile, added: “We are rarely ever without our mobile phones so it’s unsurprising that sometimes when we’re busy chatting, texting or surfing we fail to consider those around us.
“Nearly 70 per cent of us know someone with bad phone manners – although only a fifth of us thought our own phone manners may be in need of improvement – so our user friendly guide aims to help people weave their way through the web that is modern phone etiquette.’
DISCLAIMER: The study was conducted in UK. However, we feel it would be of interest to our readers, plus most of the etiquettes apply globally.
