"Social" media and the end of family conversation. (a smallish rant)
My daughter and her family are visiting us.
She and my son-in-law ( and our 10 year old grandson and 5 year old granddaughter) live 1500 miles away.
They come here once a year.
We go there 2-3 times a year.
It's pretty much the same now, here or there.
We're in the living room.
Some of us.
She's on her i-something facing or tweeting or whatever.
IF SIL IS in the living room he's doing the same.
More likely he's back in the bedroom on his bluetooth and i-something taking care of business.
He's very busy.
Grandson is in his room playing a video game, or watching a video, or who knows on his i-something.
Well, we do have our granddaughter all to ourselves, and she is a delight.
She doesn't have an i-something...yet.
Probably next year.
I can remember, just a few years ago, when we'd just...talk.
Face to face.
Out loud.
We'd talk politics, which (happily) we all agree on.
Or cute/funny things the kids had done.
Or how their schooling was going.
Or the price of groceries and how great farmers' markets were.
I don't remember specific conversations about cabbages and kings, but we might have.
We discussed a wide range of subjects.
I guess that's all over.
More's the pity.
Dang.
= new reply since forum marked as read
We're all very close and I wouldn't hurt their feeling for anything.
I'm hoping it will eventually wear off?
And I'm very appreciative that I didn't have to go.
So our alien masters must be pretty damn stupid..
Sorry.
My place is a no smoking zone as soon as you turn into the driveway off the street because the whole place is a huge tinderbox! 
But pets are allowed on the furniture, swearing is fine by anyone of any age any time, and being late for meals because you've lost track of the time is just fine.
Sounds like the gadgets are something that you'd like to see a little less of in your house. That's perfectly okay to make a rule about it in my book.
As a child I remember being invited onto my grandmother's lap. She would say, "Why don't you hop up here and have a little visit with me?" Sigh. I miss grandma's lap.
Have a nice family dinner that none of them would dream of missing, and over dinner, tell them a story about a memorable visit you had with your favorite relative. Give them something to remember. Make them laugh and they'll want to share their stories with you to make you laugh and keep it going. Wishing you a good visit with your loved ones. 
And wouldn't you know, at my parents' house the modem/router is not wireless. Without wi-fi, their iPods were dead in the water. So when we weren't out doing tourist-y things, we played cards and talked quite a bit. 
Well, there was a Kindle around, so people took turns reading every now and then (books that were already downloaded).
So, just thinking out loud.... unless their i-somethings have cell phone capabilities, you could try disconnecting any wi-fi and claiming, er, technical difficulties. 
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Do it in a fun, happy go lucky fashion, so it goes over better. Make a poster, make it sparkly and glittery and crap (glitter is always a yes ) and display the new house rules there. The house rules can be things like:
-outright ban of non-medical electronic devices at the dinner table
-carve out several 2 hour blocks of time during the day where everyone has to be present, and electronic devices are banned. Declare those 2 hours family game time or something to make it fun.
Yes, they'll whine and moan, but oh well. They'll deal with it.
