John Elliott Applauds Telstra’s Bad Mobile Phone Manners PR Campaign

I congratulate Telstra on undertaking research on one of my pet topics – Australian’s increasing deplorable mobile phone manners. Channel 10 News also shared my views and interviewed me this week when Telstra’s media release hit the airwaves and internet with the opening headline, “More Australians are forgetting their manners and using their mobile phones inappropriately”.

While this is only telling us what we already know, we, the public are to blame as Telstra’s research revealed “But while 4 out of 5 Australians believe we’re getting ruder (using mobile phones), less than half would call someone to heel on their bad behaviour”.

I have been,and will remain a long time critic on not only bad mobile phone manners in restaurants, meetings, public transport and in public areas, but also of the overall decline in Australians  manners.

The only way for these bad mannered offenders to improve their act is to tell them, loud and clear as I do. If you fall into the 50% category who are too afraid to speak their mind, don’t be afraid as you will have others applaud you and hopefully they will have the courage to do the same.

Telstra’s survey results classify individual personality traits and provides a range of tips to improve mobile phone etiquette. No doubt a new business on mobile manners may emerge to counter this disturbing trend.

I know Ita Buttrose, (whose latest book on manners has already sold out) will join with me in congratulating Telstra going public on this bad manners issue, but we urge all Australians to challenge and criticise these offenders, otherwise it will get worse.

John D Elliott

To read Telstra’s survey results, please click here.
To read my March 2009 article on Bad Manners, please click here.