Manufacturers Fight for Mobile Manners

Aug. 6, 2000 -- San Diego has enlisted the help of an unlikely ally in the effort to quiet the angry backlash against obnoxious cell phone users — the world’s largest mobile phone maker.

Nokia, concerned about the growing demand for cell phone etiquette, has teamed up with San Diego Mayor Susan Golding in an unusual campaign to encourage courteous cell phone use.

The issue of polite phone usage hits home for Golding. At a movie screening last year, the mayor said she repeatedly heard cell phones ringing and was surprised at the lack of consideration her fellow movie goers exhibited by answering the calls.

For a city Golding considers to be among the most advanced in the field of wireless communication, she said she expected people would be more technologically savvy and use better mobile phone etiquette.

Calling on the Public

Curious about what her community thought, the mayor posted an online poll asking whether citizens would support restricting cell phone usage in certain places. The response was overwhelming. “Of the nearly 5,300 responses to the poll, respondents most often voted for cell phone restrictions in movie and performing arts theaters and classrooms,” says Golding.

But it’s not just people in San Diego who are bothered by cell phones. These days it seems virtually everyone has an annoying cell phone story. From people carrying on loud conversations in restaurants, to students taking calls in school, it is hard to find someone who doesn’t have an opinion on when and where it’s appropriate to talk on the phone.

And the issue has garnered national attention. As cellular phone use continues to grow — there are currently more than 100 million users in the United States alone, with 46,000 new ones daily — so do the outcries for mobile manners.

With that in mind, Golding decided that wireless phone usage was a problem that could not be ignored.

Teaching Mobile Manners

Back in San Diego, an unlikely partnership between Nokia and Mayor Golding began to form. The phone manufacturer decided to shoulder the responsibility of informing the public on how to be more considerate when using a mobile phone.

And what began last year as “Cell Phone Courtesy Week” in San Diego has now developed into a multi-phase, nationwide program. So far the project’s notable accomplishment is creating the “Quiet Zone” logo. Posted in hundreds of businesses across the country, it designates a cell phone free environment.

Along with the logo, Nokia and the mayor’s office have issued guidelines for good mobile manners. Included in the suggestions are tips on how to use certain features on the phone to cut down irritating behavior (see below).

“We wanted to educate the public on how to use the technological advances in order to be more responsible and courteous in public spaces,” says Denise Crew, a public relations representative at Nokia. “You don’t need to yell into the phone anymore to be heard.”

Crew points out that the microphones now installed on most mouthpieces are so sensitive they can even pick up whispers. And manufacturers say that one advance in particular can dramatically reduce the annoyance factor. More and more handsets now feature a text messaging option where people exchange messages which appear instantly.

Sensitivity Training

While such a campaign is not ideal, it is helpful, says Jill Stein, a sociology professor at UCLA and director of Cultural Research Consultants in Santa Monica, Calif. “Just because new technology exists, people don’t know how to use it. People shape technology just like technology shapes society. The use of cell phones is still being defined and we need to continually address it as we incorporate it into our habits and norms of social behavior.”

Stein adds that there’s no question wireless communication is fast becoming the preferred method of staying connected, especially now when time seems so compressed and there’s a strong emphasis on instant gratification. But she warns that cell phone users may be stigmatized in a manner similar to cigarette smokers, banished outdoors until society accepts the idea that old methods of communication are slowly becoming extinct.

As the usage of landlines and frequency of face-to-face interactions change, manufacturers as well as service providers have the incentive to continue improving the technology. Already traditional phone companies such as AT&T and Sprint focus research and development on their wireless units rather than traditional services.

And while the debate on usage rages on, the only certainty is that cell phones are going to continue ringing for a long time.