A nice rundown of a few things that really bug me by Armin Brott. I largely agree with everything said, but the dinner texting/phone call situation is a tricky one.
I fully agree that if you get a phone call you can answer it at the table, but only if you intend to excuse yourself immediately after saying something like “Hi, hold on one second.” Being in my profession means that there will always be a work phone call while you are around family and friends — I always try to excuse myself and go in the other room to take the call.
For texting, I don’t mind it that much if you tap out a quick message and put the phone away — unless you do so while we were in the middle of a conversation (e.g. we were the only ones engaging, not one person talking to the “group”). Of course this shouldn’t be done if you are on a date or in a very formal setting.
Checking sports scores is fine if you are in a bar, everywhere else you just look douchey. Twitter? No. Facebook? No. LinkedIn? Knock yourself out, dumb ass.