No Phones on the Dinner Table

Leaving your phone out on the table during a meal has to be one of the rudest, inconsiderate, disgraceful acts of social behavior. By keeping your phone on the table you are saying that your phone is more important than the people around you. There are no if, ands, or buts, I don’t give a fuck how important your game or person on the other end of that phone is, it’s flat out unmannerly. The phone stack game should become a necessity amongst crowds.

The phone stack game is a novel idea (it’s actually not because it’s been around for quite a while but it’s news to me). All parties place their phones on the table, and the first person to grab their phone to check for a text or call loses and has to pick up the check. This is obviously something that is extreme and not actually practical but there should be some guidelines to phone use during dinner.

A few phone rules to live by
1) No phone on the table
2) A phone can be checked if it is being used as part of the discussion ie) looking up something you are talking about
3) A check of the phone is ok if it doesn’t last more than 5 seconds and is during a break of the action
4) Texting or talking at the table is not allowed

This is another important thought:
Psychologists who conducted the experiments at Essex University believe mobile phones automatically trigger thoughts about wider social networks, reducing the level of empathy and understanding in face-to-face conversations.

The point of this post is that someone needs to inform people of this. Younger people especially will grow up believing that phones on the table is fine. When I see this behavior, I immediately know that the person has their priorities jumbled. Just being aware that it’s impolite should be a start to fixing this. Emails, texts, and games shouldn’t supersede another human being as difficult as it is. I personally don’t care if I’m relaxing at a bar drinking a beer how often someone checks their phones but when you are in a dinner atmosphere, that’s where the line gets drawn. If you know someone like this, send them a text with a link to this post.