Culture
The New Rules of Smartphone Etiquette
A Pew study reveals growing consensus—and points of contention—in the do’s and don’ts of cellphone use.
If you’re like most Americans, you treat your phone like another appendage. It’s always in reach, and it’s always on, beaming messages, photos, and notifications to you in real time. Mobile devices—particularly of the smart variety—are physical fixtures in public and private life. You can hardly get through dinner without someone scrolling through their news feeds mid-conversation.
A new study from the Pew Research Center reveals just how attached we all are to our phones—and how we’re writing new etiquette rules around them.