Connected Etiquette

When we first learned about e-mail, I was taught correct "netiquette".  I'm sure I can find the details out there on the internet, but they involved savvy advice like
DON'T USE ALL CAPS - PEOPLE DON'T LIKE BEING SHOUTED AT

In time, these advice tidbits turned to conerned articles regarding the use of proper punctuation and grammar, and how the use of email is causing these wonderful life skills to erode.

Now, in the fullness of time, we all have cellphones and email, and nearly half of us have email on our phones, so that we can be connected to friends and family anywhere, anytime, with no effort at all.
All this communication is wonderful, and there are many positive aspects to the abilities these devices bring to our lives and our relationships.

However, with these devices comes a certain responsibility toward those around us.  Each day, I find myself astounded, and even downright insulted at the behavior of coworkers, clerks, and others that pay no heed to those around them. Almost every meeting or group event I've been to recently has included at least one cell phone going off.  Some don't even seem to be embarrassed by their phone's insistent rudeness in disrupting the speaker!
On the other hand, I was very impressed by one speaker who invited everyone in the room to remove the cellphones from their pockets, and shut them all the way off.  The next 45 minutes were hers, and she would brook no interruption whatsoever.  I was amazed at the shock and grudging acceptance to this demand.  This should be standard etiquette, not something we do because we are told!
This week's news included a tragic story of three young people who were sent to the hospital with serious injuries, after using a crosswalk to cross the street. They had been hit by a young woman who was so busy texting, she saw the pedestrians too late to stop. Really?  Important text, was it?  Just how important, I wonder?
There was a counter clerk who quite politely stopped, in the middle of our transaction,  with "Excuse me", so that she could answer her cell phone, text someone back for a few seconds, then resume my checkout procedure.  Really?  It couldn't wait?  Apparently my time is less important than whatever was on the other end of that call.
A co-worker relayed multiple frustrations with other co-workers who use these annoying techniques to both read and answer a text on their phone, despite being in the middle of a work conversation when their phone alerted the owner to a fresh text:

•   turned their back with a wave of their phone "I'm listening, keep going".  Just how good are your listening skills when you are unable to read my face, my body language, and likely are more focused on the written word now in front of you, rather than the words spoken to the back of your head?
•   reading out a texted answer that just came in, on a personal topic, as if related to the work conversation.  Here's a clue - your personal information is not so important that it can't wait until a more appropriate break in our work-time.
•   stating "just a sec, hold that thought" and taking the call or text, without exiting the present conversation, making you feel obligated to stay and listen.  If you just have to take that call, at least have the decency of releasing me from the current one.  Try "Excuse me" or "I apologize", "but I really have to take this call, can I get back to you later?" or "I have to catch this guy, but our conversation is important, can we pick this back up later?"
• The ear bud talkers, who stroll along hands free, loudly continuing their cellphone conversations while walking to and from their office, or through the breakroom, disrupting everyone along their path.

   How can we encourage better respect for our fellow human beings?