Etiquette for New Technology — or New Norms of Acceptable Behavior

Posted by Tad McIlwraith on August 11th, 2005 filed in Class Discussions, Everyday Life, Teaching

A month or so ago, my students and I discussed social control and norms of behavior. We discussed the difficulty some people face when new technologies develop faster than the general and agreed upon standards for their use, particularly in public settings. Using cell phones in restaurants or movie theatres was offered as one place where standards of appropriate use lag behind the actual use of technology.

Today, The Ideas Bazaar posted a picture of an hillarious sign designed to speed up the process of enculturating technology users to the proper etiquette in one London restaurant. The sign reads as follows:

Are you thinking of ordering while talking on your mobile? Don’t because you will be totally ignored!!!


You can see the picture here.

I love it … !

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2 Responses to “Etiquette for New Technology — or New Norms of Acceptable Behavior”

  1. Charu Says:
    August 12th, 2005 at 1:44 am

    Hi! I came here seeing you had linked to Simon Robert’s pic. True about how people just cannot keep pace with technology and let it run their lives. otherwise normal decent people don’t think about letting their mobile phones ring in the middle of a movie at the theatre. Or of calling one at ungodly hours in the night!

  2. Tad McIlwraith Says:
    August 12th, 2005 at 7:01 am

    Thanks for visiting and adding a credit for the picture. I think it’s a great example of what we’re talking about.

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