Etiquette Tuesday: Obsessed
©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood
The holiday season brings out the social butterfly in almost everyone. Between the holiday parties and family gatherings, you are nearly forced into socializing from the middle of November until the end of the year. This calls for certain etiquette rules which brings me to this week’s Etiquette Tuesday tip: put the cell phone away. How did I come up with the tip of the week?? Each year, I am invited to a host of holiday festivities and this year I actually decided to bring a guest along, which I usually shy away from typically because I work better at these things alone. My guest, who is extremely bright and outgoing when they want to be, is also an obsessive cell phone user. On this particular evening, we had a few spots to hit and they made it their business to drag the cell phone charger along should their battery die after hours and hours on GroupMe. Who does this??!
The point of being someone’s plus one is not only to keep them company but to also at least act like you’re enjoying the hard work the host has put into the event. Thumbing through your cell phone the entire time shows disinterest in what is happening in your physical presence. Now it’s ok to check a text message or post a quick pic (since we live in the age of FB…I digress…) here or there, but constantly staring at it and tapping those keys as other guests are trying to engage with you is just down right bad etiquette. Let me also note here that this person was not an emergency room surgeon or off-duty police officer where it might be necessary for them to keep tabs on all phone vibrations. This is a person that has an incessant attachment to social media.
I totally understand those that are attached to their phones despite the fact that I am not one of them. I do, however, think that one of the wonderful aspects of the holidays is the face to face time we seem to miss throughout much of the year with either family, friends or co-workers. Why not use this time to decompress from the constant radiation?? If not for the radiation, how about for the simple etiquette?? If I wanted a plus one muted, I could have come alone.
Category: Etiquette Tuesday
About the Author (Author Profile)
Johnna French is a Harlem NY native with deep roots in Panama, Washington, DC and North Carolina. All four places have heavily influenced her life and the foods she loves today. After graduating Howard University School of Law and beginning her life as a young professional in the city she was led to start Johnna Knows Good Food in November 2007 to keep family, friends and colleagues updated on where to go and what to eat while dining in the nation’s capitol. French, who still practices law, leads a team of three writers to cover the ever expanding Washington, DC food scene. French has been featured in print and television, appearing in Washingtonian Magazine and is a regular contributor to various local TV affiliates including WUSA 9, FOX 5 DC and WJLA (ABC Affiliate) News Channel 8. During the 2016-2017 football season, Johnna aired on Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic (CSN) show, Redskins Life, as the weekly tailgate host. Johnna is currently a regular contributor to the FOX Baltimore Weekend morning show.Subscribe
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So true. This is by far one of your better tips since starting your blog. One only hopes the tapping frenzied muted social mediaphiles will pause long enough to notice the conversations right in front of them. And someone may even discover something truly interesting about them beyond proficiency in acronyms.
Thanks!! @Yogini52