11 essential rules for phone etiquette

When phones and inconsiderate public behaviour collide the results can be uncomfortable. After a West End performance of Inter Alia, Rosamund Pike went on stage to challenge someone she had seen texting: “I just wanted to say for anyone going to the theatre, it’s a huge thing that we’re trying to give you.

I am trying to tell you a story, and I’m feeling you, and I hope you’re feeling me too … Maybe it was very important, and maybe you’re a doctor, and you’re saving someone’s life, and I hope you are, but we do see these, we do feel them.” At the same time, an academic with hearing loss warned that blanket bans or public shaming could exclude disabled audience members who rely on phones or hearing-aid apps.

Etiquette experts stress that phone use should start with thinking of other people. “It is always thinking about other people before yourself when you’re on the phone,” says Myka Meier.

United Kingdom, West End

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