Mobile Phone Etiquette

I'm in the San Francisco airport waiting for a delayed flight to Salt Lake City. I always try to use this time to do something productive and so I thought I would put together a quick blog entry. I have been wondering what to write about when a flight attendant pulled out her phone and had a quick video call with her husband. It got me thinking about mobile phone etiquette and what behavior is acceptable and what is not. In looking through old blog entries, this is not the first time I have been intrigued by this topic.

Last week I had an experience where I was the one having the video call in public. I was at a restaurant when I got a video call from my 2-year old grandson. Had it been anyone else, I would have politely asked to reschedule the call so I could take it from the privacy of my boat or office. My grandson wouldn't have understood and I knew the call would only last a minute or two. So is it OK to take a video call if you know it is only going to be a few minutes?

I was at dinner with a friend from work and he asked me if I needed to step outside to take the call. Obviously he didn't want to hear my phone call, but he also didn't know it was my grandson. Should that make a difference?

Ultimately every situation is different and we need to be respectful of others when we take phone calls in public. Especially video calls where everyone can hear both sides of the conversation. It is not appropriate to start a video call from a public place like the flight attendant next to me. If someone initiates a call when you are in public, you have the option to decline the call or answer and quickly schedule a return call. And finally if you are in public and it is your 2-year old grandson, just ask forgiveness like I did at the restaurant instead of permission. My friend understood and he knows it is not something I do frequently.