Stop being disrespectful! Think twice before using your phone on a business meeting

Nowadays the use of cell phones is so extended that many believe that using them during any occasion is completely acceptable, when in reality is often more annoying than what anyone dares to admit!

There are appropriate places to use smartphones and, indeed, work meetings are not among the those ones. A new Pew Research Center study revealed that 82% of users criticizes the use of mobiles in meeting with colleagues and friends. But -at the same time- 89% of them admitted that they’re guilty of having that bad habit.

Another survey, made among 554 professionals in the US with incomes greater than 30.000 dollars, concluded that during formal meetings:

When the use of a smartphone becomes critical, the issue even has a clinical name: nomophobia, which refers to the addiction a person can have towards a mobile phone.

According to experts, this is a disorder that many people may have without even know it, since things like getting notifications, reading messages or looking at a new Instagram tag releases dopamine in the brain, which in a hormone that drives curiosity and the need of want, desire, seek out and search.

Reasons for not using your phone in meetings

Leaving the science aside, there are plenty of reasons why one should put the smartphone aside while talking to other people, and especially if this happens during an actual business meeting. Here are some of them:

1. It’s disrespectful: When you’re using your phone while you’re at the same time talking physically with somebody else, you’re sending the message that the conversation isn’t as important and interesting as what’s happening in your phone.
2. Lack of attention: No matter how multitasking you think you are, if you’re in a meeting and -at the same- looking at your phone, you’re clearly not paying the necessary attention to the people in from of you.
3. Lack of listening: When you’re “busy” texting somebody over the phone, checking your social networks or even playing a game on your mobile, you’re not listening to the fullest what the person next to you is saying. This could lead to misunderstanding or even information gaps.
4. Lack of power: Not being able to control yourself over your smartphone shows that is not possible for you to have self control, since right after the second it buzzes you’re not able to ignore it.
5. Lack of social consciousness: If you’re a phone addict, you may not understand how your behavior affects other people, which means that you’re not aware of how much you’re damaging the situation, the meeting or even the relationship you have with the person in front of you, to whom you’re semi-unconsciously ignoring.

Now that you’re aware of this, the next time you’re in a business meeting, please think twice before using your smartphone. If you don’t (use it), the people next to you will appreciate it.

Try to get into the philosophy of being in the moment. Apply this at your own office during formal meetings and even at home, or somewhere else, with friends and family. It will be rewarding, fruitful and you’ll even feel relaxed.

If you agree with everything I wrote in this post, or if you know one or two people with smartphone addiction, please feel free to share this post so you can create awareness of an issue that has been unappreciated for so long.