It may not seem like it when commuters are shouting down their cell phones to the dismay of other passengers but most people believe there are unspoken rules about mobile phone
etiquette.
Checking emails, sending text messages and making telephone calls while in the company of others are definite breaches of mobile manners.
Texting during a date is also strictly forbidden.
But most people questioned in an online poll said they would not be offended if they received an electronic thank you, instead of a written note and 75 per cent had no objections to anyone using laptops, netbooks and cell phones in the bathroom.
"Etiquette is first and foremost a question of awareness," said author and etiquette expert Anna Post.
But she described the results of the Harris Interactive poll commissioned by Intel as "pretty surprising statistics."
Sixty-two per cent of the 2,625 adults who took part in the survey agreed that cell phones, laptops, netbooks and other electronic devices are part of daily life.
Fifty-five per cent also thought the demands of business mean people must stay connected, even if it involves taking a laptop on a holiday or answering a cell phone during a meal. But despite the need to be constantly connected and the general acceptance of the technology, people were more sensitive about technology abuses during holiday and religious activities.
Nearly 90 per cent of Americans think cell phone use is unacceptable during a religious service and 30 per cent admitted they would be offended if they received an online gift wish.