Once upon a time, one might guess, a group of little old women and maybe an elderly gent or two gathered together and developed a series of the so-called rules of etiquette. In truth, society in general develops those rules. As we change, so do the rules. What once was thought to be perfectly appropriate behavior, for example, tossing trash out of a moving car’s window, can quickly become socially unacceptable littering.

 

With regards to texting, we are quickly approaching a time in which society should formulate some rules. When the technology first emerged and then exploded, individual users decided when they wished to send and receive messages. Few limits were placed on texters. In fact, as I noted last week, the vast majority of parents now allow their teenage children to text throughout family meals.

 

There is, however, an inescapable fact: Anyone who texts while in the presence of others communicates to those people that the text message is more important than the people that surround the texter. At best, texting in the midst of a one-on-one or group conversation may disrupt the give and take. At worst, it insults other participants.

 

We have the ability to create socially accepted limits to texting. No one favors banning it out right. However, parents can say “no” to it during meals, couples can set aside text-free time when they may talk without being interrupted by beeps and buzzes, and managers can establish ground rules for meetings that include no texting except during designated texting breaks.