Cell phones are truly incredible devices. Never before have billions of people been so immediately reachable, so interconnected with one another.
And yet, despite the ways in which they unify us, we all use our phones in wildly different ways and contexts.
In fact, there’s really no such thing as global cell phone etiquette. Each culture has its own take on what i
s and isn’t appropriate behavior. It’s not as simple as knowing how to say “Hello” in a new language. Discovering how we differ from one another can be quite fascinating.
Many English-speaking countries begin our phone calls much like we would speak in person, with a Hello, Hey or perhaps Good morning. But in Japan, there is a special greeting that is only used at the beginning of phone calls: “Moshi moshi!”
In Japan, starting a conversation on a mobile phone in any public setting is frowned upon. The Japanese culture places a very high emphasis on politeness and social harmony, and that’s reflected in their approach to cell phones. Train announcements remind commuters to switch their mobile devices to vibrate or silent mode, and public spaces often feature signs politely requesting that phone use be avoided.
Taking a call in a restaurant or cafe would be considered very disruptive. Even silent use of cell phones in movie theaters, where screen light could annoy other patrons, is a major faux pa
s. And because Japan is such a densely populated country, texting and emailing — which impose less on nearby people — have emerged as far more popular than voice calls.
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