Tired of people sitting around the table paying attention to their electronic devices instead of family and friends? Or maybe you have a friend who is more interested in putting pictures of what he’s eating on Facebook than actually eating the food. Here’s a quick solution. Declare the table an electronics-free zone!
No phones, no computers, no gaming systems, no Kindles. In fact, let’s stack them all up in plain sight so we can all keep an eye on them. The picture below is from a Saturday night dinner at my house.
Twelve-year-olds do not give up their phones without a fight, but it can be done. Dinner entertainment will consist of talking to each other face-to-face. You can Tweet your sister about the salad, finish your book or make your move in Words With Friends later.
If you’re out with friends, try this method to wean the social-media addicts from their phones: stack the phones in the middle of the table and the first one to pick up his or her device, picks up the check for everybody.
Enjoy your dinner!
-Cynthia
Tags: addiction, Cell phone, electronics, facebook, smart phones, social media, twitter
SUPER, SUPER TIP !!!
Excellent tip! We have become a slave to electronics.
Excellent! This was the time of family interaction in my family as a child, and in my own family circle. Families need a down time from individual activities, and engage in family social activities. Family meals, or at least the evening meal is perfect for this.
excellent!
Absolutely Brilliant – children have an excuse but I hate it when the adults do it – they might think twice if it costs them money!
It’s a little late for me — my family is all out of state. But I thought I’d share this with you. Pre-electronics, dinner hour was accompanied by classical music; the kids called it “culture hour”. They hated it then, but learned to love Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart
Excellent idea. At home or in public settings; especially if you invite someone for a MEAL not an electronics timeout that happens to be during a meal, any meal.
Hi guys, I have to say that normally, I scan through the tips that you email me, with some mixed feelings. I find every thing here very American market oriented (Of course) but this tip it just hits the spot here in Europe(Spain to be precise) as well. I will have to try this suggestion out at the next dinner date . Please wish me well as it maybe the last thing I ever do.