Opinion | Editorials

Switch off the mobile phone

The where's and how's of usage still haven't struck home for the majority

  • Gulf News
  • Published: 00:03 September 8, 2008
  • Gulf News

If someone writes a book on the etiquette of mobile phone use, it possibly would become a bestseller. For it seems that despite its ubiquitousness, the where's and how's of usage still haven't struck home for the majority.

There can be few people who are not irritated by the sudden and urgent jingle of a mobile phone, often in the places where mobiles should not even be switched on. And compounding this distraction can be the loud conversation undertaken by the possessor of such interference. Apparently, it is imperative that such conversations are held at full volume, thereby causing further irritation to those nearby.

Reluctantly, the use of mobile phones in restaurants or even cinemas is being tolerated, but surely it should not be so in mosques. It seems that even in Ramadan, worshippers forget etiquette and leave phones on, when they should instead be praying and meditating.


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