Cell
phones cause loss of etiquette
By
Nadia Abu-Hijleh
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Amid
the hustle and bustle at Cal State Long
Beach, sociology and human development
major Stacy Beckley, made her way to the
ladies' restroom in the psychology building.
The line was out the door.
"I
wasn't paying that much attention,"
Beckley said. "So I went in [the
stall] and I was sitting there doing my
thing, and next door to me I hear the
girl talking on her cell phone. Then she
said, ‘Hold on honey, I have to
wipe'."
Beckley
was a little grossed out. That's some
close relationship she's got going there."
CSULB's
personality psychology Professor James
Amierkhan thinks that omnipresent cell
phones are the new smoke break.
"People
used to smoke because it made them look
a certain way and gave them something
to do with their hands when they were
nervous," Amirkhan said. "Well,
cell phones make you look ‘in the
loop' and give you something to do with
your hands."
Students
seem t be hooked on cell phones like smokers
hooked on nicotine. After seeing numerous
students rush out of class to talk on
the phone, chemistry major Daniel Savino
advises his fellow students to choose
their addictions wisely.
While
walking to the University Bookstore, computer
science major Roya Hashemi heard a man
yelling profanities. She turned and spotted
a guy shouting into a cell phone, "It's
not my fault you got pregnant, you're
supposed to be on birth control!"
Hashemi
said, "I felt sorry for that person
on the other end of the line. That guy
didn't need to share their private issues
with everyone passing by.
"People
need to use more discretion in social
situations," Beckley said. Employees
in the Student Union agree.
"I
hate it when students come up to order
and they're on their cell phone,"
said Kevin Hitchens, an employee of Coffee
Bean and Tea Leaf in the Student Union.
"I
give the customers my full attention and
I believe I should be getting their full
attention in return," Brigid McGuire,
another employee of Coffee Bean and Tea
Leaf.
