by Jacob Madden

Created on: September 18, 2010

Cell phones have become ubiquitous in our present day world. People enjoy the flexibility to stay in touch wherever they are. However, many people abuse this convenience and use their cell phones in socially inappropriate places and at improper times. A majority of individuals abide by a social norm when it comes to cell phone use and regard this behavior as rude, but society as a whole has not settled on a consensus of when it is okay to talk or text on a cell phone at a restaurant. Just as it would be wrong to put a blanket ban on something most people consider rude, like belching in a restaurant, it is incorrect to put a ban on cell phone use in restaurants.

There are many judgments that a person must make when receiving a call in a restaurant. There is a decision whether to take the call or not. Most polite people believe that the call should only be taken for possible emergency situations. However, certain individuals think it acceptable to take any call whatsoever. Once the decision to take the call has been made, there is another decision as to whether to leave the table while talking during the call. This is done out of respect for the other people at the table who may find it very distracting and annoying since they cannot hear the caller’s dialogue. The socially proper thing to do is to leave the table in order to take any call. However, many people still talk on their cell phones while eating at a restaurant. The question of whether these different choices are rude is different than whether people should lose the freedom to decide which actions to take.

Restaurant owners have the right to decide for themselves whether to allow the usage of cell phones in their restaurants. A government has the role in protecting the civil rights of its citizens and should not cross the line into enforcing polite social behavior. When it comes to protecting physical safety and banning discrimination and repression, the government should and must step in to ensure the continuation of a free and just society. Yet, all too often, governments tend to expand their role and feel the need to coerce the populace into behaviors that they deem respectable. While the intentions are valid, the methods to achieve certain behavior patterns are flawed. Private citizens running private businesses must be afforded the flexibility to decide how its customers are allowed to behave. If an owner decides that too many customers are receiving cell phone calls and interrupting other customers, they have the right to ban the use of cell phones in their establishment. They are the ones to weigh the benefits of implementing such a ban versus the possibility of losing potential clients.

It is understandable to become aggravated when a person sits opposite you and texts with a friend or surfs the web on a cell phone during a meal. This aggravation must not extend to supporting a legal ban on the use of cell phones in restaurants. All people have different notions of how to behave in public places and this uniqueness must be respected. A free society is one in which people are liberated to live in both rude and polite ways. The government exists to protect this type of freedom and should not clutter the legal books with petty social issues that will surely change over time. Consequently, cell phones should not be banned in restaurants.

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