Phones, chats and social media

Your phone is part of how people experience you. Digital manners now matter as much as table manners.

Calls

• Text before calling to check it is a good time; unplanned calls can feel intrusive.
• In public, use earphones. Never use speakerphone around other people.
• Step away from others to take a call and keep your voice at a normal level.
• No calls in libraries, cinemas, places of worship, or from your restaurant table.

In class, meetings and meals

• Phones on silent and out of sight.
• Do not text during class or meetings. People notice, even under the desk.

Voice notes

• Keep them under about 2 minutes. If it's under about five words, text it.
• No voice notes late at night.
• Do not send addresses, numbers or work details by voice note; people need them in writing.
• Listen to voice notes with earphones in public.

Group chats

• Ask the group before adding someone new.
• Take one-to-one matters into a private message.
• Reply reasonably promptly; reading and ignoring looks rude.
• Stick to the group's purpose, send complete thoughts in one message, and never criticise a member in the chat.
• Mute a busy chat, or leave quietly once it has served its purpose; no dramatic exits.

Social media and photos

• Ask before posting photos or videos of other people, and before tagging their location.
• Do not tag friends in embarrassing photos; they can resurface years later at university or job interviews.
• Credit the photographer when you share someone's image.
• In the UAE, photographing or sharing images of people without consent is a criminal offence, not just bad manners (see the Emirati Etiquette module).
• Before posting, ask: would I be happy for a future employer, my grandparents and the person in the photo to see this?