Once again Kanye West has been called out for his lack of etiquette and frankly, ignorance. According to CNN, he and his wife, Kim, were attending “The Cher Show” on Broadway when one of the performers caught Kanye on his phone during the performance. The performer tweeted to Kanye that he might want to pay attention to the stage rather than look at his phone.
Kanye did apologize, but the incident underscores America’s obsession with the cell phone. I am glad the performer called out Kanye. It’s time for all of us to learn some etiquette. Here are my tips:
- Put down your phone when having breakfast, lunch or dinner with your friends. Here’s a concept – look your friends in the eye and have a face to face conversation.
- Put down your phone when you are walking in a store, sidewalk, mall or anywhere where a lot of people walk. Most times these people are not paying attention to what’s around them. That’s when a trapdoor should open up. Bing! Bam! Boom! That will teach you.
- If you follow the previous bullet point, you shouldn’t be walking around a store talking aimlessly to the air. Yes, I am talking to you folks that like to carry on a conversation while shopping. Especially annoying are those folks who gesture while they talk.
- Put down your phone when you are in the theater, at a play or anywhere where you are supposed to be paying attention to others. Calling Kanye – put down the bleeping phone!
- And of course, put down your phone when you are driving. Many states and jurisdictions have passed laws prohibiting holding your phone while driving. Don’t be that idiot holding your phone when the police ride by. Put it down!
Our phone does a lot, but it doesn’t do everything. You can go for a few minutes or even a couple of hours without grabbing your phone. Enjoy the silence of common sense.