How mobile users behave in public?

A new survey from Cingular Wireless reveals regional differences in what Americans believe is the proper and courteous use of mobile phones in public areas. Southerners are most likely to disable their ringers when entering a church while Westerners are most likely to turn off their ringers before entering libraries, theatres, restaurants, and schools. Midwesterners are most likely to silence their phones when going into retail stores. New Yorkers disable their ringers most in libraries and hospitals. "People should disable their ringer in public areas such as these," says Cingular Wireless Chief Operating Officer Mark Feidler. "I'm encouraged to see that people are listening to what we've been saying. Cingular's Be Sensible program urges people to practice simple courtesies when they're in places where people gather. We understand that people want the convenience of their mobile phones. At the same time we urge people to think about their neighbors and not let the mobile phone become a disturbance."

The national survey indicates that people are most likely to silence their mobile phones in church and least likely to do so in retail stores. Feidler adds, "It's just common sense to show respect to others in places of worship or where we gather for music and movies. A retail store is a busy place where people are having public conversations. A chat on your mobile phone is more appropriate in that case."

V&L Research & Consulting Inc. conducted the telephone survey among 504 randomly selected cellular telephone owners and users. The survey has an error range of +/- 4.5%.

There are regional differences in attitudes about disabling a mobile phone's ringer in public areas.

Residents in the West are more likely to disable the ringing feature of their cellular phones while in libraries, movie theatres, restaurants, and classrooms or schools.

People in the South are most likely to set their cellular phones to silent or vibrate or turn off their phones upon entering church.

When entering a business office or bank, cellular users in the Mid and South Atlantic areas are more likely to turn their ringers off.

South Atlantic residents more frequently disable their ring feature when entering a museum or concert hall.
Hospitals are more likely to be considered ring-free venues in the Mid-Atlantic, Mountain and Western states.

Among those changing their ring options upon entering a retail store, most live in the East North Central or the Mid-Atlantic states.

Residents in Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Columbus, Milwaukee, and Cleveland say they are least likely to answer their mobile phones while having a face-to-face conversation with friends or relatives.

More than forty percent (42.4%) of residents in the largest South Atlantic cities of Jacksonville, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Virginia Beach, Atlanta, and Miami say they are very likely to answer while conversing with friends or relatives.

Sixty percent (60.7%) of those interviewed agreed that they are not at all likely to answer their cellular telephones while having a face-to-face conversation with a business associate.

Cellular users in Phoenix, Denver, Tucson, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Mesa, and Colorado Springs are more likely to say they will not answer their mobile phones while having a face-to-face conversation with a business associate.

One-third (30.6%) of mobile phone users feel they are not at all likely to speak louder when on a mobile phone.
More than forty percent (41.9%) of respondents say they move to a designated area when receiving calls in a public place.