Skip to content
Sunday 30 August 2026London --:--Frankfurt --:--Zurich --:--
NewslettersSearchEN · DE · FR
MorningWire

European business, markets and politics

FTSE 100
10,824.26
+0.29%
DAX
26,569.99
+0.77%
CAC 40
8,401.18
+0.98%
STOXX 50
6,485.67
+0.95%
  • Europe
  • Markets
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Regulation
  • Politics
  • Opinion
More
GermanyFranceEU InstitutionsCompetitionPublic AffairsBankingTechnologyEnergy
  • Germany
  • France
  • Europe
  • Markets
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Regulation
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • DE
Thursday 27 August 2015 11:35 am

Mobile phone etiquette: Is it ok to use your smartphone at the cinema, in church, at a meeting?

By: Clara Guibourg

Add as a preferred source on Google

How do you feel when co-workers take a phone call during a meeting? What about when someone plays Candy Crush throughout your commute?

Your answer to these questions may reveal more about your age than you think, after a new study on mobile phone etiquette from the Pew Research Center showed there are huge gaps between what millennials and baby boomers think of using phones around others.

Read more: Britain's now a smartphone nation

A cool 98 per cent of people aged 18-29 brought out their phone at some point during their most recent social event, with 82 per cent saying they read a message at some point.

But for those aged 65 and above, this figure came only to 23 per cent.

Given they're always glued to their own phones, it's perhaps unsurprising that younger adults also tend to be more tolerant about others using their smartphones in a range of different places – some of them rather surprising.

Is it okay to bring out your phone at the cinema to reply to a text mid-film? What about taking a call when you’re at a restaurant?

Regardless of age, most of those surveyed agreed it was okay to use your phone while walking down the street, or on their commute.

But when it comes to hauling out your smartphone somewhere more unconventional, such as during a church service, young adults are 10 times as likely as their elders to say that its “generally ok”.

But what does all this mean for our social skills?

Despite mobile phones becoming always present for most, regardless of the situation we’re in, many do feel they’re interfering with their social interaction, as 25 per cent agreed that when they used their phone around others, it took some attention away from the people they were with.

Share this article

  • Facebook
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • WhatsApp
  • Email

Similarly tagged content:

Sections

  • News

Categories

  • Tech

Trending Articles

  • Pensioners to hand over bank statements in government benefits crackdown

  • Jamie Carragher: HMRC petitions for Sky Sports star to be declared bankrupt

  • Jamie Vardy bags Bundesliga rights as he steps up streaming war with Neville and Lineker

  • City firms mandate phone and face-to-face comms bootcamps for Gen Z lawyers

  • Brewdog founder James Watt hits out at ‘total silence’ over new venture

More from Morning Wire

  • City firms mandate phone and face-to-face comms bootcamps for Gen Z lawyers

    Legal
    London skyline with The Shard, Walkie Talkie, and Gherkin skyscrapers towering over residential buildings and autumn trees.
  • Google Pixel 11 review: Can this new smartphone lure away iPhone users?

    Life&Style
    Person in yellow jacket holding a coral Google Pixel phone, with a smartwatch on their wrist, next to a car.
  • I built my career on social media as a teen. I still think banning under-16s is right

    Opinion
    Smartphone screen displaying a folder of social media app icons including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube.
  • Brits fear AI is slipping out of human control after ‘rogue’ systems escape tests

    Tech
    Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, speaking at a tech conference podium, wearing a suit and addressing the audience.
  • Is it ever ok to wear shorts to the office?

    Opinion
    Man in shorts and sunglasses walking through an office, holding a Free Palestine mug, while colleagues watch in disbelief.
  • Want to be as rich as retirees? Buy shares in them

    Analysis
    Two joyful senior women holding Euro banknotes, celebrating financial freedom and successful retirement planning
  • SCP Standard Capital Partners AG Completes Its Strategic Shift Towards Defence Technology Through the Acquisition of Vanea Technologies GmbH and Nocturne Technologies GmbH – Plans to Change Its Name to VANEA AG

    Business Wire
  • Experian Brings Personalised Credit Scores to ChatGPT in a UK First

    Business Wire
MorningWire

Independent European business, markets and political news for decision-makers.

Morning Briefing

Europe

  • Germany
  • France
  • EU Institutions
  • Europe

Business

  • Markets
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Regulation
  • Competition
  • Public Affairs

Editorial

  • Opinion
  • Editorial Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Company

  • About Morning Wire
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookie Policy
© 2026 Morning Wire Ltd · Published by Morning Wire Media, Bahnhofstrasse 65, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
Privacy · Terms · Cookies · Facebook