Table manners

My mobile was vital before my husband died as I had to leave him with a carer whenever I went out, and I wouldn't have dared go out at all without knowing that they could contact me at all times.

My mob is for an emergency in the car. My thoughts on people who do this? It's because they haven't learnt the 'art of conversation' as for having a hundred and odd so called friends 'poppycock'

My eldest sister who play golf now as the* technology* to tell the world she plays. So booooooring.

We have just had my 20 year old DSS to stay for 3 weeks, he was horrified when he realised he couldnt get signal for his phone to enable him to text or call, but by using the internet he could still use fakebook, his best friend came to stay for the final week and the pair of them hardly spoke a word and even though the were sat on the same sofa the fakebooked each other until my DH flipped

With you, Lelly.
If I were you, I would take a book with me and while they are on the phone, read your exciting book. Wait until they have finished, read a couple of pages more and then close your book. They would be appalled. If they make any comment, just say you were waiting for them to talk to you, got bored and read instead!

pickkupublishing Re having a good phone, why on earth do people allow their children to walk around with hundreds of ££s in their hands ? do they want their children to be mugged ? only the other day a young lady was hit by a car and whilst she lying on the ground with 2 broken legs someone picked up her £400 ! phone and ran off with it. Nobody would wander around waving a £10 note in the air.

I totally agree with the first post about the use of mobile phones ,when I am lucky enough to go on holiday or out for a meal the last thing I want is people getting there mobile phones out and playing endlessly on games or Facebook lately wherever we go whole families get there phones or tablets out and use them the whole time they are there never a word of communication between them it makes my blood boil at the rudeness of people.urrrgh!

I hardly ever have my mobile phone switched on, unless I am out somewhere and need to contact my husband. It stays in my handbag. If anyone else needs to speak to me they can send a text and I will get back to them, preferably by text! I can't understand this mania people have for constantly having to know what others are up to. I am on Facebook but I don't always check it every day and I don't do Twitter at all. I would rather concentrate on my own life than other people's and anyone who is constantly on Facebook or Twitter must have a very boring life!

My mobile is really for emergencies, I put it in my handbag when in the car, can't hear it as I have the radio on. At home it sits on my dining room table & I often forget to check it, only the other night as I went to bed I noticed a message, it was from my Dentist to cancel an appointment, received 14 hours earlier!!!!

I don't expect my DD or any of the Family to use their mobiles whilst with me & certainly not when we go out for coffee or a meal

As soon as I retired from my job I put my phone at the bottom of my bag and it has stayed there ever since I have hardly used it only for emergencies,I am not that important that people need to call me every few minutes what is wrong with people that they need to know what is going on with everyone all the time it beggars belief.

Lisalou.
Can you visualise how on earth you would have existed if like myself in my working life, no smart phones, tablets etc and in a managerial position with clients being my bread and butter?
Yes I did get meal breaks and if your clients wanted you and you were taking your break then they left messages at the office.
So much pressure these days.Carrying a phone around because you have to be available 24x7? no thank you. Heart attack waiting round the corner.!!!!!

What appalling manners. I love my phone and it is with me at all times and I will never give it up. But it stays firmly in my handbag when I am with people or out to lunch, whatever. I think what grandMattie said about taking a book is a brilliant idea.

Phew! I thought I was the only grumpy dinosaur regarding use of mobiles in company and at mealtimes. Last year I reprimanded my 50+ stepdaughter for constantly using hers whilst staying with us. After several days of biting my tongue , one dinner time my patience snapped and I bellowed " If your Dad was here (dead many years) he would tell you to put the bl**dy thing away".
She did , but then she and her husband, one a psychologist the other an MSc, gently told me that it was normal nowadays and an excellent idea for young people to communicate and learn skills. My one word response is unprintable on Gransnet. Thereafter she did not use it in my presence. Since then she is always posting trivia (which restaurant / photos of food/ look what shoes i have seen etc) on Facebook.
Sufficient to say you all have made valid points regarding that technological "communication" is ruining social skills and the fact that family members text each other within the same house instead of walking into the adjoining room beggars belief.
Mobile phones have a role in modern life not an all-consuming need. Living in rural France mine is for emergencies, lives in my handbag , taken out at night to re-charge and check if there was any message. We use the landline and answerphone for most messages - told you I was a dinosaur - but would fully accept being in company and a guest was expecting an important call -business or family emergency, but request that they leave the room to take the call.
Love the tip about phones in centre of table and the one who tries to use one pays the bill. Also, I believe there are mobile phone jammers on the market ....... probably too expensive/ illegal and too large to secret in one's handbag.

My mobile is usually in my bag, or somewhere else in the house,I loathe when people come to visit, and immediately take out their phone, one neigbour and her Husband called around last Summer (always armed with their mobile) then suddenly the Husbands phone rang and he sat there talking for ages, his wife sat googling something we had asked about, we sat like two book ends wondering why they came at all, what is this behaviour all about, people in their sixties who dont know how to talk any more.
A few weeks ago we had six people around for a "chat" I thought, when suddenly two of the females got our their phones, I couldnt resist saying " Oh I see we have two teenagers in our midst" it did the trick, if they are impolite, I felt I could be too!

I remember whem celebrating New Year 2000, being on a boat in Lisbon and at midnight some people took out their phones and contacted others. If they wanted to celebrate new year with others why waste our time and space.

When I play Bridge in a tournament we have turn of our phones, if we don't and our phone rings. We get points taken off our score.

Maybe I haven't read all the posts but is there no etiquette regarding mobile phones. And if there isn't maybe there should be?!

It's not a new thing, about 25 years ago I was having coffee and chat with a friend in a 5 star London hotel when a very loud American started banging away on his mobile. It was the early days of mobiles, imagine the look of surprise on his face when a waiter told him the lady over there asks that you turn it off as you are drowning out their conversation!

I hate having a conversation with quite a few people. Why? Because I find I am talking to someone who is texting someone else and flicks a quick look in my direction once in a while, and nods, while i am sure they havent any idea at all as to what I've said.

Totally agree with you Lellyb.
I have a mobile phone, but I would never dream of using it in company. My Family and Friends know never to 'phone me unless it is an emergency, which is why I bought it in the first place. The company of my Friends and Family is far more important than checking out the contents of my mobile.

Am I the only one who thinks New Year is something of a special case? If I go out with friends I have my phone in my bag but wouldn't normally dream of using it in their company except in emergency or if asked to check something (though I do use the torch function to read menus!).

But it has become a convention at new year to send a new year's greeting to friends and family - at the party I attended everyone did this, after the champers and toasting each other of course. I had typed the message in and selected recipients before going to the party, and imagine most other people had done the same, as the conversation was barely interrupted.

I might have commented that you could have saved the cost of going out and just texted each other! It drives me nuts too.

Thanks gransnetters, I'm glad to know that it's not just a grumpy, miserable ole me for objecting to this behaviour (as I've been described when registering my complaint).

These are lovely, old friends that are great in every other way, and so I don't want to be too vocal about this, however, there are some fantastic ideas for dealing with this more a subtle way and I love the idea of an electronic phone jammer (I'm going to look this one up after posting). However, if I did use one I bet there'd be even more panicked fiddling with their phones trying to get them to work and they will suffer PTSD (phone totally stopped disorder... ). And I can sit there looking supremely serene and smug whilst reading my book!

The thing that REALLY bugs me is people who go through a checkout in a supermarket and chat on their mobile during the whole transaction, totally ignoring the presence of the checkout operator. It's SO rude.

Take your phone out and send them all a text saying "Turn this bloody thing off and let's have a conversation. You are being really rude!!" Then sit and smile sweetly at them.

Everyone seems to be attached to their mobiles nowadays.Glad to say I am not one of them. I must say if you are out with friends it is very rude to be on your phone to others.I would have been very annoyed if it happened to me.

I absolutely agree. I think it's downright rude.