You’ve all seen the photo on Facebook—cell phones on the table in a basket, caption reads, “first person to check their phone picks up the dinner tab.” Today a family friend posted the following on Facebook—it may or may not be an actual “Dear Abby” letter but the gist of the message is what caught my eye.
I focused on the line, “spending time on the cellphone rather than socializing is rude,” and “I know cellphones are part of our culture, but adults still have the power to choose what is important and turn them off.”
Has it become acceptable in your circle of friends/family for people to bring cell phones to gatherings/parties allowing those phones to ring and beep, spending time texting, reading email, and surfing the internet ignoring the conversation/friends/family around them?
Would you bring a book or newspaper to a social gathering—probably not—so why bring your phone?
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I have to say that at times, we have the same problem with our kids:(
ReplyDeleteWe don't have that problem, but we hang with older people who were raised right. I know that most of the time in the old days there were always those kids and adults that stayed to themselves, acted out, or didn't come at all, so maybe the phone raises their comfort level and keeps them from disrupting the entire event...LOL
ReplyDeleteIt can be a real issue .. I try to leave my phone in my purse or at home if we are going visiting.. Being 'present' at a social gathering is the polite thing to do .. It does indeed make the people you are with feel like they are not as important as the 'ones inside your phone'..
ReplyDeleteI use my phone when I'm out with Jim because he is such a slow eater. So if I talk to him when he's trying to eat we could be there for hours. LOL And I put my foot down with our kids a couple of years ago. So they are pretty good about it. But I wonder what it's going to be like for our grandkids. Really scary. Rudeness seems to have become the norm rather than the exception.
ReplyDeleteIt's a sad commentary on present times. :(
ReplyDeleteWe have our 14 yr old granddaughter leave her phone in the car when we take her out to eat. It's the only time we have with her by herself and we want to enjoy some conversation with her. She's good with it.
ReplyDeleteWe were invited to our friends' daughter's place for Thanksgiving one year. There were four young people at the table with the adults and they spent the entire meal time on their phones. We said "never again!"
ReplyDeleteThe following comment was sent to me in an email--Anyway to the crux of my message, I too see instances daily where the cell phone is an intrusive device and detrimental to interaction among people. Case in point, while I was dining at the local Braums the other day, I observed a child with her father having their meal. The little girl had finished most of her meal and her dad was texting on his phone while the girl was just begging for his attention and interaction. She was crawling in his lap and under the table trying to get his attention for a simple conversation. I thought to myself, how sad, and how he will pay someday for neglecting a fine opportunity to spend quality time with his daughter. And I see this almost daily in my travels, be it with adult/children or adult/adult situations.
ReplyDeleteI myself have a Tracfone flipfone and will not get into the smart phone stuff. (Not smart enuff to run one!! It was hard enough to learn how to program my tractor’s guidance system!!)
I hope you all are doing well in AZ and someday I hope to get out there.
Don in Okla.
In a gathering of younger folks they might all be on their phones and it wouldn't be considered rude. Like the IPods of earlier years, when kids listened to music all the time, phones have become the norm for this generation. A generation I note who all got their first phones as gifts from their parents :-) I like the phones in the basket idea because it sets a clear expectation for everyone at the gathering, regardless of generation. It is most sad when adults are ignoring their young children in favor of their phone and is teaching a whole new level of disconnectedness for that generation. Wish I had an answer for how to make it better, but until someone does, I just ask people to put down their phone and talk with me.
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