By Ashlyn Stewart
Pew Research’s Internet and American Life project’s most recent findings come as little surprise to us teenagers – the generation notorious for staying glued to its cell phones. The study, released on March 13, concluded 78 percent of teens have a cell phone, and 47 percent of them own smart phones.
Because so many teens own these devices, countless questions about where and how they should be used by such impressionable minds have surfaced. Pair this with how quickly the technology changes and it’s a wonder any users know what cell phone etiquette should be.
Fortunately, teens do.
Naturally, these manners vary with the manners the teen has in the other aspects of her/his life. For the most part, though, teens have cell phone ground rules they follow both at home and in public.
Teens rarely call each other, instead preferring to send text messages. My Android Global simply flashes a green light whenever I have a message, and I, like most other teens I know, hardly give it a second thought when I reach to see who is trying to contact me.
These constant connections seems second nature to teens. Seventeen-year-old, iPhone-wielding Caitlin Batty said, “You don’t go home and hang out in your room or with your family. We talk to friends after school and pretty much all the time (via texting).”
This means not responding to a text is a rarity for most teens, but Batty suggested a golden rule for replying: don’t send a text at a time when you wouldn’t want someone else to do it to you. Batty said this is the case for a serious small-group conversation, where you should simply ignore the notification in favor of the real life conversation.
The constant contact also raises the question of how quickly to text back, which teens spend likely far too long contemplating.
I am infamous amongst my friends for “dropping off the face of the earth” for hours simply because I don’t remember to check my phone if I’m not actively using it. But I’m behind the times; I still have a landline.
Batty instead suggested one should reply “no longer than five minutes later, if in a back and forth conversation, unless you tell them you’re going to be busy or doing something else.”
Emily Dewberry, also 17, said that no matter how long you are left waiting, you should “never double text,” which is to send the same person the same message more than once, “because it’s weird and annoying.” She added, “There’s a reason they’re not texting back: they’re either busy or don’t want to talk to you.”
In the event that teens do receive a call, “You should apologize and say you ‘have to take this,’” Batty said. “We (teens) don’t call each other very often, so if someone is calling, it must be important.”
Believe it or not, there are still places teens feel shouldn’t accommodate phone usage at all.
“I would say class, but everyone does anyway,” Dewberry said. She did say cell phones should be out of sight and out of mind “on a date, when your parents are screaming at you, in a meeting, or in an interview.”
Most teens also respect the movie theater as a place to turn off their phones. “At the most, it will be like three hours, which is not too long to go without (a phone),” Batty said. “Plus, even if you dim the screen, it’s distracting to the others in the theater.”
Using phones while driving poses a constant temptation to teen drivers despite the fact it is illegal to text and drive in Colorado, and illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to use a phone while driving at all.
Pair texting with the danger of a teen’s feelings of invincibility – especially boys from ages 16 through, well, I’m not sure when it stops – and it creates a serious threat for both teens and those who share the road with them.
My driving skills are hardly adequate as is, so I can honestly say I have not tried to send a text while driving. I have watched some of my friends try this multitasking, though, and it is sometimes difficult to stand up for the safety of all parties present.
If cell phone usage rates among teens continue to rise – especially in the case of smart phones, which Pew reported as jumping to its 47 percent from just 23 percent in 2011 – the fog surrounding cell phone etiquette will only continue to grow. Internet access in teens’ pockets, for example, brings a whole new set of threats and challenges.
Fortunately, teens like technology; we’ll face the obstacles armed with our phones and 4G.
Pew’s study can be viewed at: pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Teens-and-Tech.aspx.
Ashlyn Stewart is an active senior at Salida High School who makes time to write by eliminating time-wasting activities such as sleeping and cleaning her room.
