Girls In Tech

The intersection of technology and etiquette leaves many things to question.  Where is the line where technology and convenience cross over to become inappropriate and rude?  Not proudly, but many of us now have very private conversations in public places and even allow our face-to-face time with friends and loved ones to be interrupted by errant text messages or obsessive email checking.  In an era where we’re accustomed to being constantly connected, and most of us near freak-out mode when we’re inadvertently disconnected (like when the guide function on the t.v. is ‘temporarily unavailable’), we need to come to a consensus on when it’s mandatory to unplug.  Yeah, I went there – you just saw mandatory and unplug in one sentence.

Much like the eejit who puts their feet up on the seat next to you, a mere eight inches from your head, when you’re in the movie theatre, there are those who don’t realize (or sadly, some that don’t care) that their phone usage in the movie theatre can affect your movie-going experience.  I’m apparently not alone in feeling bothered by these folks, who somehow imagine that because their phone is on silent that the glaringly bright screen of their blackberry in the quiet darkness of the theatre won’t catch my eye or distract me from the film, because on my last voyage to the movies the Please remember to turn off your cell phone notice had been changed to Please remember to turn off your cell phone and as a courtesy to others – no texting during the film. 

Sort of like the old Be Kind, Rewind stickers on VHS tapes, the gentle reminder about being courteous to your fellow movie-goers will most likely not be heeded by the ones it’s intended for, however, for the rest of us – the avid rewinders – the attempt to persuade folks into being courteous is appreciated. 

We’ve all experienced the technojerk whether it was the rude movie-texter, or the loud-talker on the bus broadcasting TMI for all the passengers to hear (seriously dude, it might not be poison oak) or worse yet – the dangerous technojerk who thinks that texting while driving is a good idea.  And while our tolerance levels may vary, or our perceptions of what constitutes an inappropriate convo in the public arena (seriously dude, good luck with the calamine lotion), having an accepted standard of when to use, and more importantly when not to use, our fabulously convenient techie-toys is necessary if we value living in a civil society.  Dramatic?  Perhaps, but a defensible position nonetheless.

If we forget how to unplug in order to enjoy the act of getting lost in a fictitious, fantastical story for a fraction of our night, and we forget that some conversations are meant to be kept private – for the sake of modesty at least – then we may as well forget to say please and thank you when speaking to people, and we may as well forget to hold the door for a few seconds longer so that it doesn’t hit someone in the face, and we may as well not cover our mouths when we cough, and…oh, this is our modern day civil society, isn’t it?  Well in that case, in an effort to keep us from becoming any less civil than we already are, and to keep us from alienating our bus-mates or getting tossed out of the movie theatre for being the technojerk – let’s agree to act like ladies (and gentlemen) and operate with some techniquette.