The most important dating advice came from Meher Baba: Be Here Now! 

I went on a hike with a friend the other day and he  spent an hour on his cell phone on business calls.  The world has become so 24/7 with respect to business, and companies feel so uninhibited about contacting workers at any time for any reason, that not answering the phone would have been economic suicide.  He had the decency to be very embarrassed about it.  Still, several months ago when my sister asked her boss not to email her on Sundays with the expectation of an immediate reply, her boss got very upset, claiming that a global company requires constant attention.  My sister got another job just to reclaim her Sundays. 

Still the worst cell intrusion was a woman at a dinner party who took a call during dinner from her husband and stayed at the table and talked for twenty-five minutes.  Oh yes, I did keep track of the time, there was nothing else to do.  The rest of us just ate and looked at each other and shrugged.

Last year I saw a sign at a cash register that said "No talking on cell phones while in line."  That a sign was required was sad.   

At my last job, our "group leader" always answered her cell phone during staff meetings. We could tell they were personal calls since she called whoever answered, "baby, yes baby, sure baby," and then she would leave the staff meeting to finish the call. It showed us what a bad-mannered hick she was. Unfortunately, the VP liked her anyway, which made us realize, there was something going on. Otherwise this would not have been tolerated at any other company.

Without realizing it, I think I trained my boyfriend to be more considerate with his cellphone.  He is on call 24/7, and I never said a word when he took calls, never showed exasperation; he always kept the calls short.  Then once when we were on one of our infrequent vacations in a lovely winery countryside, he got call after call from his office.  He was quite irritated and told them he never took vacations and to handle the "crisis" themselves.  He still had the job when he got back, and he had the added respect of the people who called him, interrupting what was supposed to be a stress-free vacation.

Now when he shows anger (he is not quick to anger) they back down and give him space.  I commiserated with him over his office’s incompetence, but he handled the situation so well I never felt secondary to his phone.

I do, however, think most of the folks who walk down Fifth Avenue, phone glued to their ear, are faking it.  I have tried making a phone call there and cannot hear over the traffic.  IMO, they have some need to feel and look important.  No one needs that much communication. 

Oddly enough, this afternoon a friend called from work, trying to reach another friend and having communication issues, and we got onto this topic.  He told me he had taken someone to the Bolshoi Ballet at the Kennedy Center recently (boxed seats; i.e. not cheap,) and the couple in the next box spent a lengthy period of time glancing at their cell screens or taking calls, despite the request at the beginning of the performance to put these things away.  He had to go get an usher during the first break, and he laughingly told me, "The Kennedy Center takes these things very serious and gave him a firm talking to." 

We also got on the subject of being put on hold.  Both see and agree on the necessity when it’s a business call, but a personal call?  We both said, "I hang up on them."….and I do.

I attended a meeting in which the Chairperson’s admin asst  came into the board room at precisely the start time and collected all the phones and geek-squeaks. THEN he entered the room and started the meeting uninterrupted.

Smart thinking.

I don’t even plant my blackberry on the table when i’m out wiht my husband! if he and I have something going on in our lives that we’re sharing and I might get a call or e mail for that then i check. But if we’re out on a "date" i don’t. just commone sense in terms of relationship.

What about these people who cannot let go of their phones? They have bags, pockets, purses but the phone cannot leave their hand as they walk down the street. I’ve seen mothers having difficulty pushing a stroller because the phone is glued to their hand, and guys wearing cargo pants but clutching their phone. I think these people should attach a baby’s pacifier to the back of the phone so they can suckle it as they go about their day. I can only hope all this bizarre behavior eventually becomes laughably tacky and stigmatized.

I think they should have designated cell phone areas like smoking sections - no phone conversations in public unless in those areas.  My husbands office has become quite a texting bother lately.  I’ve asked him a few times what his phone is worth.  One of these days, I’ll hand him the price of it in cash, and then smash his phone with a hammer.  Sure he’ll have it replaced within 3 days but it’ll be worth it.

I once read that one should never text or talk on the phone anyplace that it would be rude to pull out and concentrate on a crossword puzzle. The idea being, if it is rude to concentrate so much as to totally ignore a person, then it shouldn’t be done.

I teach film, and my classroom is a windowless viewing room with theater-style chairs that have a small desk-arm. I have become an absolute martinet about cell-phones, Blackberries and other texting devices, which students seem incapable of relinquishing even for a nano-second! Nothing is worse that dimming the lights, starting a wonderful classic film like The Maltese Falcon, and at a critical moment having a beam of light shoot upwards from a cell-phone screen. Aaaargh! So now I have an EDICT: Thou Shalt Not Touch Thy Cell-Phone In Class. Or else EDICT 2 goes into effect: Thou Shalt Remove Thyself From Class, Or Suffer Prof. C. To Remove You, Take Your Choice. (EDICT 2 works quite well. Perhaps it could be amended to cover dating contingencies?)

One of my biggest pet peeves. Yuck!

The Love Goddess covered it perfectly, having your cell phone accessible on a date sends a clear sign to the person seated across from you that they come second to a call or text that you are awaiting. However even beyond the standpoint of a date, even when out with a friend, I believe it is courteous to turn the cell off until your time with them is over. Once lunch or dinner is over, you stand to say your goodbyes, then and only then is it appropriate to pull out the cell and check for messages.

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I got married to an african girl,but now we are both seperated but she is with my kid.