Illustration by JASON CHEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
By Sharon Kim
Daily Bruin Contributor
Cell phones are both ubiquitous digital jingles of
easily-recognizable pieces of classical music like “Ode to
Joy” and indications of the advent of technology and mobile
communication.
Though helpful in calling for help and staying connected with
loved ones, the infiltration of mobile phones on college campuses
has begun to irk students and university employees alike.
At UCLA, there is hardly a place where students can escape
disruptions by jingles or what seems to be people talking loudly to
themselves, be it lecture halls, eateries or even bathrooms.
And it is this omnipresence that makes cell phone use a bit of
an annoyance to others, according to Gordon Shen, a first-year
microbiology and molecular genetics student.
Shen, like many others, feels that cell phones should be treated
like public telephones and be used accordingly.
“It’s not that I have anything against cell phones.
They’re convenient and useful during emergencies,” he
said. “But it gets distracting when people hold long
conversations in public places.
According to mobile producer Nokia, one out of three Americans
use cell phones, a number that has skyrocketed since
1996.Â
Despite this wide-spread phenomenon, there is still no widely
accepted etiquette for appropriate cell phone use in the American
culture.
At UCLA, cell phone use has become such a nuisance that places
like the College Library have designated themselves “cell
phone-free” areas.
In Westwood Village, like many others, movie theater managers
have asked patrons to turn off their phones before the movie
begins.
Around the country, cities like New York have posted signs
asking people not to use their cell phones in designated areas.
In Northern California, restaurants have similar requests.
At Bridges Restaurant in Danville, a note at the bottom of the
menu reads: “As a courtesy to other diners, Bridges would
like to request that cellular phones be used outside of the main
dining area.”
Michael Kean, general manager of Bridges, said it is difficult
to make such a request a restaurant policy because many patrons,
particularly doctors, often depend on their phones to conduct
everyday work.
“We do ask them to turn the volume down,” Kean said.
“Sometimes we ask them to take (the call) outside.”
In Santa Monica, signs prohibiting the use of cell phones have
also appeared, but at restaurants like Chinois on Main, such
regulations don’t exist, according to assistant manager Lina
Lantsman.
“But we prefer that people don’t use their cell
phones during their meal,” she said.
Problems with public use of mobile phones are not singular to
the U.S., however. Other countries with similar issues have learned
the proper etiquette for use over the years.
For example, nearly three out of four people in Finland own cell
phones, according to Time magazine. Yet many cell phone users in
that country have made it a habit to switch to the non-intrusive
vibrating mode whenever indoors, making cell phones virtually
undetectable.
Because cell phones have become such an essential part of the
Finnish daily life, Time stated that the rules to polite cell phone
use have become embedded in their society.
In Japan, nearly half of the population carries cell phones,
according to the Washington Post.
But Japan, a country known for its polite and courteous society,
is having problems of its own, and the Post states that various
measures are being taken all over the country to reduce public cell
phone use.
These days, however, Japanese officials are cracking down on
impolite and inevitable interruptions from cell phone rings and
conversations.
Signs prohibiting cell phone use are beginning to appear in
restaurants and one train line has designated certain cars as
“no cell phone” zones. There are even blatant
announcements telling people to turn off their phones.
One Japanese company called Sampo System looks to capitalize on
the growing distaste toward excessive public cell phone use,
according to the Post.
The company has developed a signal light to be mounted in trains
and public places that will flash when someone uses a cell phone
within 25 feet.
But tactics that work in Japan may not work in such places as
the United States, which doesn’t share the Asian
country’s reputation for politeness. This is why it’s
important to think about when and where to use cell phones.
“The increasing use of cell phones adds to our increasing
individualistic culture and perpetuates the independent
unit,” said psychology Professor Patricia Greenfield.
“Even so, considerations for other members of society
should be made, and cell phone use in closed spaces like
restaurants should be regulated,” she continued.
Unlike in Japan, there are no official measures being taken to
restrict cell phone use at UCLA, let alone the entire United
States.
But there are simple ways to use cell phones without causing
such a great annoyance to others so that limitations of this kind
will not be necessary in the first place.
One of the most obvious includes placing phones on silent mode
while indoors. When it is necessary to use the phone in
public, there are appropriate ways to do so.
Roxanna Brown, an art history graduate student, said that just
explaining to those around you the reason you need to use a cell
phone may make the situation more polite.
“You shouldn’t belittle the people around you by
giving more importance to someone on a phone line,” she said.
“Cell phones are in fact valuable if they can put everyone in
positions where they learn how to be polite.”
With reports from Dharshani Dharmawardena, Daily Bruin Senior
Staff.