Technology Faux Pas

We are without question living in the digital age.

A whopping 85% of Americans now own smartphones, and 92% of households own a computer of some kind.

That’s an amazingly broad scope for a plethora of creativity, information sharing, keeping in touch and cat videos.

It also introduces an entirely new kettle of fish for digital missteps and ways to irk the people we spend time around.

Most of the time, but not always, we don’t even realize we’re committing these faux pas. However, I’d bet we’re all guilty of at least one.

By far and away the most common way which we’re radiating rudeness is making our cellphone our top priority. It’s a great tool for connecting with friends and family and staying informed, but when you’re completely preoccupied during what would otherwise be a social situation people are rightly offended.

The same goes for taking loud phone calls in public or, worse still, using speakerphone within earshot of literally any other human being.

Fire the person a quick text and arrange a call for a time you’re not inflicting your conversation on everyone around you. Unless you’re driving of course; one in every four accidents are caused by being distracted by a cellphone!

Smartphones would be nothing without the internet, it’s fair to say.

Paraphrasing the famous Vegas slogan: 'what happens on the internet, stays there forever.' Any opinion we share, or photo we post, or amusing video we shoot should be treated like it’s going to be available for someone else to refer back to in perpetuity.

Cancel culture, for better or worse, is a great example of this. People are getting dragged for things they said a decade ago; this same execution could easily be used by a stranger or potential employer to make a snap judgment about your character.

Where might we be tripping up at work?

Well aside from the famously maddening meetings which could just as well have been emails, one of my personal peeves rears its head during presentations.

You’re presenting, you’ve spent time making beautiful, engaging slides for us to enjoy. Please, for the love of PowerPoint, don’t read verbatim from the very same slides we’re having beamed at us; they’re a visual aid or a summary and not a script.

Oh, and the thing where you stick a piece of tape on your colleague’s mouse to stop it from working?

It’s obviously hilarious, but probably not appropriate right before they step into a meeting.

I’ve written about digital responsibility before, but it’s worth mentioning again.

Sharing something on social media which is controversial without doing an ounce of research as to its legitimacy is irresponsible at best.

While it’s great to challenge ideas and debate about issues, doing so in a respectful and well-informed manner is much more likely to yield an outcome beyond simply alienating people.

The internet isn’t a tool for bullying others in any manner, irrespective of their beliefs.

If anything is going to help avoid these pitfalls, it’s going to be mindfulness.

It’s so easy in today’s world to do things quickly. Ordering something, sharing something, sending something.

If we take a little time to think about the impact of what we’re doing, it would help avoid the unintentional upset stemming from our connected lifestyles. Read the situation, be empathetic. I’m a huge proponent of appropriate technology usage, but I benefit from a reminder to put things away and switch things off just as much as the next person. Now if I could only get my mouse to work….

Richard Noble is the founder of Want For Tech, an IT company based in Glasgow.