Cell phones are everywhere. Just about everyone has one. Not only does just about everyone have one, they always have their cell phones on and it seems like every phone call or text is important and needs to be attended to right away. It may just be the culture we live in today, but there are certain occasions and locations when cell phones need to be silenced and put away. Here are a few examples of such occasions, should you find yourself in one.At Dinner/On A Date These two go hand in hand. If you're at dinner with friends or family, they want to feel like they're important and a priority. Having your phone at hand at a moment's notice will send the message that they're neither of those and that's not a message you want sent to people you're close with. When you're on a date, your undivided attention needs to be on the person you're on a date with. You need to be engaged in conversation and show an interest in the person. If your phone rings for either a phone call or a text message and you take the time to answer it, it will send the message that the person you're with isn't interesting. That isn't the message you should be sending on a date, even if you find yourself not all that intrigued with the person. On the same note, should you forget to turn your phone's ringer off and it does go off during your date or during dinner, picking up the phone to silence it and then putting it away shows that you are truly interested and respectful of whomever is in your presence.At Church Whether you're at church for Sunday service, a wedding, a funeral or a baptism, your phone needs to be turned off and put away. Anything held in a church setting is considered to be sacred, and having your phone out is just plain rude. You don't want to interrupt the service going on and have the attention of literally everyone around you; the person(s) holding the service and everyone in the sanctuary will give you disapproving looks and you simply don't want to be that person.At Work Generally speaking, employers have rules set up for cell phones and their usage while their employees are working. That rule usually is that the employees are not to be using their phones when they're getting paid to work. A lot of people like to bend this rule and sneak their phones around to use them, but if caught, getting in trouble with your boss isn't the only repercussion you could face. It sends the message to your employer that you don't take your job seriously, which could force you to face complications in the future. If you're trying to work your way up the job ladder and your employer thinks you don't take your job seriously, you could be passed up for future promotions and pay raises. Those are consequences you don't want to have to face simply because you made what you thought was a small mistake.In A Meeting This can go hand in hand with the previous point of keeping your phone away while you're at work. If it's a meeting for work, you want your boss to know that you're serious about your job and that when you're at work, they have your full attention. This is how promotions and pay raises are achieved. What this all boils down to is respect for others. When you're with others who expect your undivided attention, give it to them. It could change how someone views you and how serious you are about different things in your life, or it could even mean a change in your career. These are things to be taken seriously, so use these tips to make sure you're prepared for every scenario.
