Millennials are more tolerant of cellphone use in social settings, a survey finds.

More and more people pull out their smartphones or cellphones at meals, in meetings or in the classroom. But which habits with those mobile devices get a thumbs down?

A new survey finds that many Americans feel using the mobile devices in those settings is just inappropriate. But opinions on mobile device manners vary by age, according to the survey out Monday. Younger people tend to be more tolerant of cellphone use during meals, meetings and classes.

The Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and Bovitz Inc., a market research and strategy firm in Encino, Calif., conducted the nationwide survey of 989 Internet users. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1%.

“The purpose of this technology is to facilitate relationships,” says Jeffrey Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future. “We need to find a balance to foster or facilitate communication, not to replace or inhibit it.”

Among those surveyed:

• 62% said just having a mobile device on the table during a meal was inappropriate.
• 76% said texting during a meal was inappropriate.
• 84% said talking on a mobile device during a meal was not right.

Cole says age affects views because younger people who grew up with the technology have fully integrated it into their lives as opposed to their grandparents.

One of the biggest differences between age groups is that 50% of those ages 18 to 29 consider texting during a meal permissible, compared with 15% of those age 30 and older.

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source: USA Today / Cathy Payne