Ask Cella: Etiquette in the Digital Age
Cella,
I was talking to my friend Tiffi on my phone. I was riding on a bus, ya know the one with the cute doggie on the outside, when the driver kept interrupting me with “would the person on the cell phone please lower your voice or end the conversation.” How rude was that?
Chatty Kathy
Kathy,
Some people are just self-involved. Maybe he thought that maneuvering a 5-ton vehicle at 65 mph with 60 or 70 people on board was more important than hearing about Tiffi’s trip to the mall. Some people just can’t multitask.
Cella
Dear Cella,
Like a lot of New Yorkers, I’m used to would be Lance Armstrongs weaving through traffic and blowing through red lights. Recently, I was almost run down by a cyclist going the wrong way on a one way street, running the red light, and was TALKING on his cell phone. I wanted to clothesline the SOB. Would that have been wrong?
Mad in Manhattan
Dear Mad,
It would be wrong because clotheslining is a 15-yard penalty.
Cella
Dear Cella,
My parents believe that it is bad manners to text during dinner. Are they right?
I’m divided on this issue. It is rude to be texting during dinner. But as a parent, I’d be thrilled that you’re home for dinner.
Cella
