Have you ever spoken to an audience only to see them all on their phone? Well this certainly bothered one speaker enough to make some policy changes — $20 fines for texts, Tweets and email.
Those fines are in effect now — not at an elementary school — at an adult leadership program here in Louisiana. Like most leadership programs, the application process for this one is highly competitive and the benefits are vast. Participants learn about their local, regional and statewide communities directly from the business, cultural and political leaders who are making an impact.
But don't expect them to Tweet about it.
That's because, for the first year, the leadership program enacted a series of fines if participants are caught using their phones during presentations. If the moderator catches you texting, tweeting or checking email, you'll need to pay $20!
As with most strangely-specific rules, this one stems from egregious abuse. According to a 2011 member, some of the 2010 classmates were particularly glued to their phones. In other words, they paid considerable tuition fees for an opportunity to listen to their state's most accomplished leaders only to check email and Twitter the whole time.
As you might imagine, this doesn't go over so well with speakers. One of the speakers complained (Who can really blame them?). The leadership program committee decided fines were necessary.
We have yet to see if the fines will be effective (I'll follow up at the end of this year). I would hate to see a fining system catch on in other groups. However, I also hate to see people ignoring others under the guise of working on their phone.
It's sadly ironic that adults buy expensive smart phones with extensive data plans and use them to ignore beneficial moments in life. As is the case with most technological advancements: Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
