Smartphones are so ubiquitous that we don’t even say smartphones anymore. Phones are now a part of us. They might as well be physically implanted. There isn’t a line, bus, train, waiting room, or restaurant anywhere that doesn’t have the cool blue light of the small screens illuminating faces as part of the overall landscape. To not see a phone is to arouse suspicion. There was a time when our etiquette was clear and everyone understood. You stood up when someone entered the room, you never called during dinner or past 9pm, and you never read at a table. Nowadays, all these rules are ambiguous and there is no clear “common sense.” With social changes in sex and gender norms, most people aren’t sure if they should hold the door open for a woman, be responsible for the bill. Although there aren’t hard set rules for phone etiquette, there is a thing called consideration for dating with people from phone dating numbers.
A recent poll showed that 75% of singles feel that answering your phone on a first date from a list of free dating phone numbers a big turn-off, 66% don’t want you texting on a date, 58% don’t want to see your phone face up on the table, and 45% find it a turn-on when their date keeps their phone off and away altogether. While turning off your phone for an extended time may make you feel excruciatingly uncomfortable for an extended amount of time, just keeping it out of sight is a reasonable way to show your date that they are important and the focus of your time together. Unless your grandma just robbed a bank, maybe you should let it go to voicemail. On second thought, you might not want to explain fugitive granny to your date from a phone dating line anyway. Being considerate will never go out of style.
