Mobile phones and the transformation of public space

This article can be used to foster a general awareness of how social norms govern behaviour in various places. There could be a brief class discussion in which students are asked to identify examples of how people should (or should not) behave in the following places. * A queue * The student common room * A place of worship (there are, of course, different norms for different types of places of worship, and this in itself could prove an interesting comparison) * On a bus, train or plane (examples of 'air rage' might figure here) * In a public library * In one's own home and in someone else's home * At a football match (as a spectator) Teachers may well wish to use other or additional examples. Students should also be asked how strongly they feel about themselves behaving differently in the various places from the ways they have identified. Would they feel embarrassed, ashamed, indifferent etc? Having discussed the examples, students should then be asked to observe, on occasions when they are in any of the places identified, the extent to which the norms they have identified are, in fact, followed. They should also be asked to observe people using mobile phones, to identify the 'types' described in the article. They should be given about a week to do this, and then a further discussion should take place regarding their observations. They might then be asked to write a few paragraphs on social norms, how they are learned, and how far they govern social behaviour. They should also try to identify other examples of changing norms in public spaces, e.g. skateboards, laptops.