Sign of the times: Texting at table

[trof]

We went to a restaurant for lunch Saturday.
As we were waiting to be seated I noticed a table of 6 diners nearby.
I'm guessing they were two moms and 4 pre-teen girls.
All six were sitting there texting, totally concentrated on their iPhones or whatever.
No conversation, no interaction, all in their own little virtual bubble.
Nuthin' like 'quality time' with the family.
:eyes:

[customerserviceguy]

1. A generation ago

it was everyone in the family with their own tray in front of them, staring at the TV that caused the breakdown in communication. We've just gotten better at finding ways to make sure that people never really interact with each other on a face-to-face level.

Ban texting, before it does any more damage.

[booksenkatz]

2. The weird thing is

I bet you that they were all texting each other. If I live to be a thousand years old, I'll never understand why people these days are opting to text people rather than have a conversation with them. Even if they are standing right next to them. Conversational skills have apparently become a thing of the past. I'm extremely reluctant to get a cell phone with texting features for my son because I don't want him to become... THAT. Texting on my own cell phone is turned off. I'm just a dinosaur, I suppose.:(

[Orrex]

7. Yeah, that's baffling

In the very early 90s, I had friends who would go to the Penn State computer lab at sit at three adjacent stations and spend hours "texting" each other. Of course, it wasn't called texting way back then!

There were usually about 20 people in the lab at any time, and usually 19 of them were doing the same thing.

[Berry Cool]

10. I knew college roomies who IM'ed each other while both were in their room together.

When I asked them why, they said "Because we can."

I've seen my nieces standing in front of me texting instead of interacting with me. I told their mother, from now on, when they're with me, they need to put the phones away. I don't care if they text in the back seat of the car when we're going someplace, but it's rude to do it when you're face to face with people or sitting at a meal.

[lunatica]

3. The new family activity

How do you know they weren't texting each other?

[marmar]

4. I went to lunch with an adult cousin and three teenage cousins....

.... the teenage cousins sat at the table with iPods in their ears, and constant texting. .... It was surreal.

[Orrex]

5. I'll bet that you remember when this was all fields.

:evilgrin:

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. They'd rather do without oxygen than give up texting.

[cbdo2007]

8. I won't even answer my cell phone while out to dinner.

It is rude to the people you are with.

[KharmaTrain]

9. Text Zombies...

That's what my daughter calls those people. You can be having a conversation, all of a sudden the phone goes off and the person becomes totally abosorbed with the text...oblivious to the previous conversation and anything else going on.

We've turned into the most dysfynctional "connected" society...

[eShirl]

11. to me it seems like a lack of self control

[ecstatic]

12. Probably updating Twitter

[eShirl]

13. "At some restaurant with my stupid family... weird guy staring from next table."

[Echo In Light]

14. _

[seabeyond]

15. recently i heard something about art of conversation. that people are being conditioned out of

conversation with all the texting.

the best aprt of my day monday thru friday is the family sittin for dinner. no one gets up until i am done. i have always eaten slow but over the years, and the enjoyment i get from sittin with family and talking.... i have become so very very slow.

i have friends and family that come to house for dinner not cause of the cookin, .... but to sit and talk over dinner.

[Jennicut]

16. Pre-teens with their Moms....like anyone at that table wanted to talk to each other to begin with.

When I was 12, I could barely communicate with my Mother. It didn't get better until I was about 17. I used my walkman to shut adults out, ancient by today's standards but it worked well enough in 1988.