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While smart watches are nothing new, the unveiling of the Apple Watch has flung wearable devices into the spotlight. Since the release of Google Glass, wearable technology has become increasingly mainstream and controversial. They raise new questions of social etiquette.

The Monitor turned to three experts for advice on proper social smart watch manners: Carol Roth, an entrepreneur and CNBC contributor; Jodi R.R. Smith, author of "From Clueless To Class Act" and president of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting in Marblehead, Mass.; and Daniel Post Senning, the great-great grandson of Emily Post and author of "Emily Post鈥檚 Manners in a Digital World, Living Well Online."

So what is proper smart watch conduct in public? The experts weigh in.

What is the proper smart watch etiquette during a conversation?

Roth: "If you鈥檙e having a family dinner or you鈥檙e out in a restaurant, then you鈥檙e interacting with people that you know. You want to be present, you don鈥檛 want to be distracted by something going on somewhere else, that should be the most important thing for you 鈥� to be there. So be there, and don鈥檛 be glancing at your watch every 5 seconds."

Smith: "If you and I were face to face having a conversation, and somebody tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned my back to you and started talking to them, that would be seen as being incredibly rude. Any time we break and divert our attention from the person that we鈥檙e supposed to be paying attention to to play with an [Apple Watch] or an iPhone or whatever it happens to be, that鈥檚 going to have the potential of being extremely rude.

Post Senning: When you鈥檙e in the middle of a conversation with someone, you don鈥檛 take your attention away from them unless you鈥檝e warned them ahead of time that you鈥檙e expecting a call or someone to contact you.

But what if I get an alert on my smart watch?

Roth: 鈥淚f you are in a business meeting or you are communicating with colleagues, you need to be present in that moment鈥� Either turning it off or setting it to silent or putting it on some other setting, so that 1) doesn鈥檛 interrupt what you鈥檙e doing, but 2) doesn鈥檛 tempt you to become like Pavlov鈥檚听dogs, and consistently, every time there鈥檚 a bell, look at the watch.鈥�

Post Senning: [Something to be aware of] is there are a lot of deeply ingrained social responses and cues that are related to gestures and the gesture of looking at your watch is a really powerful one. [It] creates a really strong impression in people and usually it's that 鈥業鈥檓 running late鈥� or 鈥業鈥檓 concerned about the time.鈥� "

What is the proper etiquette for using it in public?

According to the experts, this again falls to being aware of your surroundings. If you鈥檙e on a subway car, find a spot where people won鈥檛 be 鈥渇orced to endure half a conversation鈥� or keep a discussion between 30 to 60 seconds long, as Smith recommends. When a server approaches you, don鈥檛 play with your smart watch, which can leave them feeling as if they鈥檙e being 鈥渢reated like a machine,鈥� as Post Senning notes. The group agrees that respect is the ultimate form of etiquette.

Roth: It is about being "courteous and not disturbing people in public, especially during travel, [or] if you鈥檙e in a restaurant, or, personally, if you鈥檙e in a movie theater. You have to be aware that you鈥檙e bringing this piece of technology into this conspicuous place that can impact other people."

Final thoughts

Roth: 鈥淏asically, this is the bad etiquette of the iPhone or other smart phones on steroids, because now everybody has it hanging out on their [wrist]鈥�I always feel like your rights and privileges are yours until they infringe upon other people鈥檚. So if you鈥檙e infringing upon somebody else鈥檚 rights and privileges, just don鈥檛 do it.

Smith: It鈥檚 interesting, because this is not a generational thing. I get asked this question all the time, 鈥業t鈥檚 the young people that are always checking on their phones,鈥� and that鈥檚 simply not the case. This is something that we see across age range [and] socioeconomic factors; this is purely a maturity factor. And there are people who are able to interact with people without being distracted, and there are other people who use their mobile devices like electronic security blankets, and if you don鈥檛 mind being perceived as someone who needs a security blanket, then go ahead and check your [Apple Watch] when ever you want. If you want to be seen as a mature individual, then you need to be able to resist the temptation to check the watch perpetually.鈥�听

Post Senning: A general rule I love to offer people is think about the relationship that鈥檚 being served. Think about the people involved, and that the vast majority of good behavior or good etiquette is common sense. Once you鈥檝e thought about it, you鈥檙e going to make a good choice. Most rude behavior is unintentional, so if you bring your awareness to a situation you鈥檙e going to be in good shape.

The principals we see as timeless and eternal ... are consideration, respect, and honesty.... When you鈥檙e talking about digital manners, really giving your attention to the people you鈥檙e with is a fundamental social etiquette.... Whatever the distraction is, whether it was fidgeting with something in your hands or whether it's texting someone on your cell phone, that鈥檚 been bad manners. It was bad manners 100 years ago and it鈥檚 bad manners today."