When you live in one of the beautiful waterfront condos at Boca Bayou, it’s easy to step away from many of the things that tend to annoy all of us – ranging from ice on your windshield to skateboarders on the sidewalk. But these days, there are very few places where you can escape from our ubiquitous cell phones!
The deep end of one of the heated swimming pools at Boca Bayou might offer you some respite from the various sound effects and one-sided conversations that come with cell phones, but there are too many wonderful reasons to dry off when you live in Boca Raton – including a trip to Town Center or dinner at Mizner Park.
Cell Phone Courtesy Month
Cell phones aren’t going to go away, which is a good thing. These modern marvels allow us to do so much. We have more computing power in our pockets than all of NASA did when we first went to the moon.
I don’t think anyone would say that National Cell Phone Courtesy Month, which happens to be celebrated in July, is a bad idea.
Cell Phone Etiquette
In an effort to free us from the bad habits that can be associated with cell phone usage, The Protocol School of Washington put together a list of courtesy reminders. You may have your own pet peeves, but here are there top picks:
Don’t put your cell phone on the table. “Whether you’re dining with a boss, colleague or a family member, we always advise everyone to leave the cell phone off the table. Dining should be a pleasant, communal experience and nothing can ruin it more than someone checking their phone or sending out a text. It shows a very real lack of respect for your dining partner and makes you appear anything less than ‘present” with the person right in front of you. So, ladies and gents, leave the phone in a purse, messenger bag or even on the floor out of sight.”
Do you really need to send that text during a meeting? “Texting during a meeting shows a total lack of respect for your coworkers and it makes you seem aloof and disengaged from the business at hand. So, do everyone a favor and wait to send that text until the meeting has been adjourned.”
Keep your private life private! “Even if you feel you are worthy of your own Netflix special, the majority of strangers around you don’t care about the minute details of your everyday life. We’re talking about the loud public speakers who use their phone in a grocery store, a waiting room, public transportation or anywhere there is a shared environment to overshare what they had for lunch, what funny thing their child said, or how they still can’t believe that ‘you know who’ died in Avengers: Endgame. Do everyone a favor and keep calls made in public as private—and as low volume—as possible.”
Don’t text while driving. “Distracted driving, which includes texting as well as making voice calls, are partly responsible for at least nine deaths and 100 injuries on a daily basis in the U.S. alone. So be courteous and smart when you are on the road and keep your hands on the wheel and off your cell phone.” Another reason to resist the urge to look at your cell phone – texting while driving is against the law in Florida.
