At this day and age, smartphones are everything and when I say everything, I mean our daily lives revolve around it. There is Whatsapp, Facebook, email and all sorts of other notifications taking up our attention span. Sure, time has evolved to where we can’t help but to prefer conversations over Whatsapp as opposed to sitting down and actually talking to one another.
But you can’t help wonder, was there ever a time where a bunch of people sat down for dinner and when it was ready, they just eat instead of uploading a photo on Instagram before taking a bite out of their meal? We’ve become constantly connected through technology and perhaps that’s okay most of the time but sometimes, one needs to know where to draw the line. When to start putting your phones down while dining and catching up with a few close friends.
But what if you had that one friend, that one individual that’s frustratingly attached to their mobile phone as if their life depended on it? That one individual who would suggest catching up, but what they really meant is every one else should converse with each other while he/she is stapled to their phone screen. How do you deal with the likes of them? Here are a few suggestions:
Solution #1: Keep your mouth shut and never invite them back
Depending on how close you are to this particular person, you could choose the path that requires least effort. Try and ignore their extremely rude behaviour and make a mental note to never invite them again. It’s definitely not easy to bite your tongue when someone is displaying such bad manners but save everyone else the awkwardness and keep it to yourself.
Solution #2: Allow for a break
Much like smokers that go for their smoke breaks, you may want to allow a period of time where the phone enthusiasts and everyone else could also check their phones. After checking how many likes their dinner picture got on Instagram, everybody can go back to enjoying dinner along with some conversations.
Solution #3: Say something but with a sense of humour
Constantly being on your phone whilst out for dinner with friends is just plain rude. Some people get this but most don’t. It gives others the impression that you have somewhere better to be or something more entertaining to attend to. So, if you feel like you need to fight fire with fire, then do it in a humorous way. Send them a text message in a joking manner or a picture of them staring at their phone. A good friend will laugh it off and put away their phone.
Solution #4: Confront them head on
There are times when people just need to confronted. Despite the fact it’s almost as rude as someone being on their mobile phones and ignoring their company, you have got to do it. Ask them why? Was there an emergency and that’s the reason they were texting away? Or you could easily tell them that even though you’re glad that they were able to join you for this occasion, it would be much appreciated if they could put away their phones considering they said that they didn’t have anywhere else to be.
Solution #5: Play “that” game
This particular game has gotten quite famous. Gather everybody’s mobile phones and place them on top of each other in the middle of the dining table. The first one to pick up their phone during dinner is the one that will be paying the entire bill. This plan is pretty much fool proof ‘cos ain’t nobody is going to want to pay for every single person. So, if all else fails, try this method!
