 In this world of short-span attention, socially self-made fame and where our virtual lives are more exciting then our real ones have come along with a side-effect; social acts that go from fun to unmannered and annoying. Here are few remedies to tame the self-attention and try to get some real-time quality time with your friend and for the offended party--how to handle that situation! THE INTRUDING PHONE CALL You are on the phone talking with your friend and all of the sudden you are talking to yourself because your friend that 'CALLED YOU' starts talking to someone else out of the blue. This is just plain rude! Dear offender, ever heard of the saying 'hold that thought' or 'hang-on a minute'? The worst part is when she tries to clean up her act by introducing you to someone you can't see. Bad. Just bad. Remedy: When you call someone and you N-E-E-D to respond to someone else, please do excuse yourself with the person on the phone for a minute or if the call on the other line will take longer then 15 seconds. Don't put your friend on hold for ten minutes and expect her to be there when you return. When in public, don't pick-up the other line, unless you know it might be an emergency, try to not answer phone calls and texts. There is a reason why you and your friend have taken time out of each other's busy schedule--to spend quality time together. If you must, do give your friend a small explanation and excuse yourself if you have too, but make it quick! THE CONSTANT PHONE CHECK Ok, this one is seriously annoying and rude! What is so important that you have to keep looking at your phone? It says that you are not interested that much and that you might have somewhere else to go pronto--ya, if you keep it up, the other person might just really have somewhere else to go; away from you! Remedy: Offender, just stop! Really. Go rinse your face with cold water and get your social act together. You made time with this person for a reason. Right? To the offended party, throwing in a few words while again for the 100th time she/he checks the phone: "Is everything ok?" or "If you prefer, we can do this a better time" will bring your dear friend back to reality--at least, it's supposed to. If it doesn't, wrap it up and perhaps 'texting' for the next friend date would be better for this type friend. THE LONELY LAUGH You and your friend make time out to spend quality time together and all of the sudden your dear friend is laughing all on her own and you're talking to yourself. You pause and realize that yes she is mentally 'ok' and that she is texting another friend. Oh yes! friend buddy that is exactly what you call friend quality time. Remedy: Please just don't do that. When someone is talking to you, it is only fair to listen attentively. This also applies to that continuous act of checking your phone every 15 seconds unless we both are waiting for a call, text or respond to something. It's annoying, shows disrespect and that you really don't want to be there. So, why even agree to hang out? THE FOOD STYLIST You're out with your friend having dinner and when the food arrives she becomes a bit too busy taking pictures of her food(ok, we might be guilty of this a bit). Seriously! Don't be too much. It really is quite annoying to have to wait for you to finish your food photoshoot on our time. Remedy: To the other friend, start eating! Seriously. You can just throw in something that says, "If you don't mind, I will start eating" food photoshoots can take a while. Offender, take just one photo if the itch is that bad! But, that's it! And do it while the server is serving the food, if possible. Also, this doesn't feel quite good if you are meeting someone for the first time. You can also both agree to do a few photos right when the food gets there, if you both are into that. But, take a cue--if one of you is not photographing, be mindful and don't invade your friend's(who is not taking pictures of the food) plate, let her eat! THE LONG BATHROOM TRIP You are out with your friend and she excuses herself to the bathroom. Five minutes pass, then ten, then fifteen. Ok, did she get lost? Did the toilet swallow her? Wow! all of the sudden your friend is back with a full conversation on something that just happened on her social profile with selfie pics of herself to prove it. Plainly rude! Remedy: Order dessert, throw it in her face, take a pic of it, tag your friend and see how many likes you get. Ok, we are kidding about that, but we know you(we) secretly wish to do that. Offender, listen, selfie pics in public bathrooms are nasty and do remember that you do have a real life outside your social networks and the bathroom. Respect the time people make for you. THE VIDEOGRAPHER Ok, this one can be quite annoying. Your friend starts video recording herself for her fans, friends(that are probably busy with their real lives or maybe not) and might try to include you in it. The funny part(we've all seen these) is how some of her friends in her vids are like WTH??? Remedy: There is not much you can do except wait until she is done filming herself unless you want to leave criminal evidence. If these acts become extreme, you as a friend might want to bring it up to her attention between Snapchat sessions. For the offender, keep your stories to a minimum, we don't care to see your friends with awkward faces(too funny!) Dear offender none of these actions are cool(in an extreme way) when you are hanging out with your dear friend and both are trying to spend some quality time together. Keep in mind that she is taking time out of her 'real' life to make time for you in 'real time' and not you and your virtual life. Be polite and give your undivided attention otherwise don't waste your time or their time. This script was updated 08.16.15. Written by Mariana
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