CPUP in Thailand
A friend of mine who's currently traveling throughout--well, everywhere, and she's in Thailand right now--e-mailed me about the recent post on cell phone use in public (CPUP). Here's what she had to say:
I've been reading an anthro book, Inside Thai Society, and the author emphasizes that Thais put great importance on their public presentation and on maintaining smooth social interactions with others, especially "distant" others (non-friend/-family). This means a lot of smiling, deferring, graciousness, which sometimes flabbergasts or embarrasses me and my spouse. But today on the subway I saw a new sign of this: A businessman took a call and spoke into his cell phone with his hand over his mouth.Cell phones are everywhere. Imagine a road-side (dirt road) food stand where a grandmother in tattered apron is resting after packing up her ancient cooking pots to close down her stand for the afternoon (all to be bicycled home) and she takes a minute to check her messages. People don't read on public transport ... they talk on their cell phones, BUT you can't hear them, and its not just because the hinges on the open window haven't been oiled in decades. People talk softly, they hold the mouthpiece up to their mouth, and if there isn't a lot of white noise to cover their voice, they put their hand over their mouth and mumble!
I've wondered for a while now if CPUP per se is really the problem, or if it's the way people behave about it. Certainly an interesting new perspective!
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Who is Miss Conduct?
Robin Abrahams writes the weekly "Miss Conduct" column for The Boston Globe Magazine. Robin, who has a PhD in psychology from Boston University, has worked as a theater publicist, organizational-change communications manager, editor, stand-up comedian, and professor of psychology and English. She lives in Cambridge with her husband, Marc Abrahams, founder of the Ig Nobel Prizes, which are given annually for achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think.
