With this enormous shift in global culture, we’ve developed some interesting social norms to better engage with other people. In this article, we’ll look at six of such common norms that help us regulate our use of technology.
1. Don’t Peek at Someone’s Screen Uninvited
Smartphones have become our primary tool to document our life. They store so much of our personal data including photos, videos, contacts, passwords, banking information, chats, and so much more. It’s no wonder that people like to keep things private.
Failing to conform to this norm of not staring at someone else’s screen uninvited can make you look creepy, disrespectful, and even dangerous. Of course, this applies mostly to strangers and colleagues, since you might get away with it among close friends and family.
2. Don’t Swipe If Someone Shows You Something on Their Phone
Even if you do get invited to see something on someone’s phone, don’t swipe left or right to see more than what they asked you to see. If you want to, make sure to ask for permission first before doing so.
Otherwise, you run the risk of making them feel like they can’t trust you with their phone.
When a friend tells you to check out a cool TikTok video they made, for example, they’re not inviting you to scour through their whole gallery. Unlike social media walls which are public, private media is private for a reason.
3. Take Off Your Earbuds When Talking to Someone
Modern earbuds come with all sorts of useful features like ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) and Transparency mode. The latter allows you to hear your surroundings while still keeping your earbuds on. Still, this is a relatively new feature and far from mainstream.
This sets the obvious presumption that someone wearing earbuds can’t hear you properly and therefore requires you to unnecessarily raise your voice when speaking to them.
Due to this, if someone strikes a conversation with you, it’s in good taste to take off your earbuds.
4. Don’t Unplug a Charging Device to Charge Yours Without Permission
Your device may be running low on juice, but unplugging someone’s charging device only to charge yours without asking them is not a good look. An exception to this might be your direct family, but doing so among friends or colleagues can invite some squabble.
Plus, not every charger is compatible with every phone. The obvious examples are iPhones with their Lightning connectors and Android phones with their USB-C connectors or Micro-USB. So, even if a friend or colleague has a spare charger, they might not be able to help.
5. Don’t Play Your Music Aloud in Public Spaces
This one is straight-up annoying. You might have the best taste in music, but not everyone wants to listen to your playlist, no matter how carefully you curated it. On train stations or bus stands, people might not be able to hear the announcements if you play your music out loud.
In parks, supermarkets, and public squares, it causes unnecessary disturbance to your surrounding people who are simply trying to relax, shop, or commute. If you feel like jamming to your favorite tracks in public spaces, use headphones.
6. Don’t Use Your Zoom Lens to Stalk People
Over the years, zoom cameras on smartphones have become very good. For example, the Galaxy S22 Ultra can give you a surprisingly clean shot even at 30x zoom.
While this is great for people who like to shoot photos of birds, buildings, and the moon, it’s also sadly a great tool for stalkers.
Imagine you’re minding your own business while someone in the next building just pulls out their phone to see what you’re up to like it’s no big deal. Clearly, that’s a big invasion of privacy.
Make Sure to Use Tech Responsibly
Technology has a big influence on how we interact with each other, especially today when it has become such an integral part of our lives.
While we all benefit from its versatility, we also lose because of it. To mitigate those nasty consequences, it’s important that we follow social norms to improve our relationship with technology.
