Food & Drink >
Dining Etiquette
Get a Widget for this title
RSS FeedShould cell phones be banned in restaurants?
Results so far:
| Yes | 38% | 1174 votes | Total: 3068 votes | |
| No | 62% | 1894 votes |
Yes
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesWhen I sit down to dinner in my home, I do not want to be interrupted: it's my time with my husband, or family, or guests. Time and effort have been spent putting the meal together and, if we're not entertaining guests, it's likely we've not had the luxury of their company for a time. I would like nothing better than to enjoy it without distractions. I like to make sure interruptions won't take place: the ringer on the phone is turned off and the answering machine is put on, with the volume reduced so that calls come in silently. Music's on in the background, to help everyone get into the mood of the evening: it shuts out unwanted noise and helps everyone forget about the earlier concerns of their day. There is so little time left for people to just enjoy being with people, or to enjoy the pleasure of a well prepared dish with each other. Any distraction has the potential to shut down a great conversation, or completely undo a terrifically heightened mood.
The same thing applies when I go to a restaurant for a meal. Whether I'm on a break from work and I want to gather my thoughts together during my limited meal time, or I'm at the restaurant to be with friends or family, I don't want to have to contend with the never ending ringing of cell phones around me. I don't want to hear patrons in nearby tables having futile arguments with their children about what they can and can't watch on TV while they're out, or what they're doing while they are sitting in the restaurant. The noise level and the needless discussions are all unwelcome in that atmosphere, as unwelcome as they'd be in a movie theatre, during a film.
Even in a fast food joint I'd have trouble seeing the need for a cell phone's presence, and I wish people would regain some of the common sense about respecting other peoples' boundaries in terms of noise and interruption once again. I'd very much like to see it become fashionable for people to leave the restaurant's contact information for a babysitter to call, should any emergency arise while they happen to be there. That way, the entire drama could be relayed silently, between the waiter and the patrons concerned. No one else in the restaurant would ever have to know about it, and all responsibilities could be covered with no extra stress thrown towards every one else in the room. If the umbilical cord of the cell phone is absolutely impossible to do without, any phone calls to "check in" could be made outside, before entering the restaurant where no one else wants to know about your business. The "business calls" excuse is equally lame: if you're going to allow your meal to be interrupted by a business call, get your food "to go" and haul it all the way back to your office with you. Don't plan on interrupting a conversation with a flesh-and-blood human being seated at your table to "work"on a matter you won't be able to settle. It's rude and it betrays a lack of common sense plus a deficiency in the skill to discern whether or not a restaurant date should be canceled or postponed to a time when you can devote a few minutes to someone you purport to call a friend.
Most of us spend the majority of our waking, working lives running after the call of machines that beep or ring, and the last place I'd want to continue listening to that is a restaurant, where I'm paying for the experience of being present within its dining room.
Learn more about this author, H. Snowborne.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
No
While it can be rude to speak on your cell phone when dining in a restaurant, at times it is unavoidable. There are ways to do it without being inconsiderate to your fellow diners though. Therefore, restaurants should not be allowed to ban people from using cell phones. To take away one's freedom to make or receive a phone call while they are dining out would be a huge mistake for the restaurant industry.
In today's technology driven world, it has become the norm for people to be accessible to their loved ones at all times. Tell these same people that they are not allowed to use their phones in a restaurant, and you have the potential to drastically reduce business. In a world where it seems as if every day society pushes us to become more and more politically correct, where do we draw the line? When has society gone too far in trying to police the behavior of the general public?
One of the main reasons that the idea of banning cell phones in restaurants came about is that there are many inconsiderate cell phone users in this world. However, there are also many more people who are considerate of others when using a cell phone in any kind of public establishment. Why should these people be inconvenienced because other people aren't considerate enough to carry out a phone call in a way that does not intrude on the dining experience of others?
For many people, their cell phone is a direct connection to the work that they do. Depending on your occupation, your cell phone could serve as a virtual office. For example, a doctor on call needs to be able to make or receive phone calls, regardless of where he is. This is one reason why banning the use of cell phones in restaurants would not be profitable. In addition to doctors, anyone with a sick relative, especially a child, is not going to be willing to be out of touch because the restaurant they are dining in does not allow the use of cell phones. This, in turn, would lead to a decrease in business for the restaurant industry. In an economy where everyone is struggling to make a decent living, banning the use of cell phones would be a recipe for disaster.
Allowing cell phone usage in restaurants does not have to be bad news for those who are on the other side of the issue. One idea is to have separate sections, much like when restaurants had a smoking section and a non-smoking section. A section for cell phone users and a separate section for those who don't want to have to hear someone speaking on their phone may be the ideal solution to please everyone.
As more and more people come to rely on cell phones to keep in touch with everyone from their business colleagues to their children and aging/sick relatives, we may see a more general acceptance of cell phone use in public places. If done in a non-intrusive way, no one should be denied the right to talk on his or her cell phone when it is necessary. In today's fast paced world, it should come as no shock that cell phone use is so prevalent.
Learn more about this author, Julie A. Wein.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
