“No texting at the table!”
This was practically a mantra my parents repeatedly recited throughout my high school years. At the time, I remember thinking how uncool they were, but in hindsight I respect them for making my brother and me leave our phones in the other room during dinner time.
Texting at the dinner table is a very rude practice because it tells the person sitting across from you that they are boring and you’re looking for entertainment elsewhere from other (more interesting) people. While this may not be our intentions, remember actions speak louder than words. If you were having dinner with Taylor Swift, would you be looking at your phone? No, because she’s more interesting than anything on your phone.
A Boston Medical Center study recently revealed that texting makes parents cranky and it can have negative affects on children. Kids are very demanding and when parents are trying to use their cell phones, they easily become frustrated by their children when kids start competing with the phone for their attention.So, if you have kids, you should put the phone down around them. It makes you more cranky and the kids more needy.
Texting has become a problem not just in families, but relationships too. Many partners feel slighted by the attention we give our phones instead of them and this attachment to the phone can even be a significant factor in the downfall of relationships.
Well, Ikea is here to help:
In true consumer fashion, if there’s a problem, surely we can buy the solution. In this case, the solution is in the form of a place mat for your cell phone. While it may not completely eradicate the problem, it points out the rudeness of it to dinner guests.
Take a look at the place mats:
The mats create a tiny, little hideaway for your phone. You can still check it, but it serves as a quaint reminder for the rudeness that takes place when you feel inclined to look at your email.
Or you could play this little game:
When I go out to eat with my friends, we’ve started playing a “game.” Everybody has to put their cell phone in the center of the table in a neat stack. Even if the stack vibrates or rings, we’re not allowed to touch it until the meal is over. The first person to touch the stack of phones has to pay the bill. If nobody touches the stack, we split the bill evenly as we would without the silly rule.
Try it next time you go out to eat. You never know when you might just get a free meal out of it…
[Featured Image Credit: Ikea]