Incommunicado

I suppose it's a sign of age, but I am much vexed by the increasing amount of time spent on the habit of reading and writing messages on your mobile device. Don't get me wrong, I think having the means to send and receive texts is terrific, and I used it early on in the life of my mobile phone ownership. But together with the facility of emailing now, I am annoyed when the habit supersedes other forms of communication, particularly when it takes place in front of you, when you are talking with that person, or worse still when you are in a meeting and one of the attendees pays more attention to the phone than to the presentation. Unfortunately the habit seems to be gaining currency, and is therefore considered acceptable.

We once had a friend over for dinner, and after it he spent a great deal of time reviewing sales figures for his company via his BlackBerry, so we left him to it, and moved to another room. Shortly thereafter he seemed more concerned about being abandoned than offending us by his behaviour. I think we're going to implement a "phones at the door policy", (rather like checking guns at the door).

It reminded me of something I have read recently. When the Queen and Prince Philip moved into Buckingham Palace after her accession, and prior to the removal of Queen Elizabeth to Clarence House, the young sovereign and her husband were astonished to discover that communication between members of the family and senior courtiers was by handwritten note delivered by a footman in full livery. They replaced this by an internal telephone system, but there was much opposition from the young dowager queen, which of course mattered not after she had moved. 

It amused me when I read of the new government policy to be introduced in the UAE and Saudi Arabia banning the use of email and texting via BlackBerry. I know the ban was not motivated by the annoyance which I describe, but it would be nice to think that it was.

I suppose it all comes down to good manners, which are after all about consideration and respect for those around us.

Queen Victoria would not have been amused either.