On the news this week I heard that there is a restaurant in California that offers an incentive to its patrons who are willing to give up their cellphones while at dinner. The rationale is that we all need to enjoy the company we keep, as well as the food and ambiance that are available to us.
My very first thought was, “How much of an incentive?” The answer: 5% off the bill.
My second thought was, “That’s it? Why bother?”
My next thought was, “How pathetic that we need to be incited to give up our phones during dinner!”
My last thought, “How pathetic am I for thinking those first two thoughts!”
howsyourlovelife 
Vulnerability exposed when we lay down our electronics – we might miss something – to your point!!! Beautiful.
Exactly! My husband and I kept our phones in the car during dinner over the weekend, and I will admit we had some really good conversations.
That’s a great idea or a sign to ‘please turn off your cell phone while dining’.
This certainly is a cell phone generation with people checking their email, playing games or using their phones to take pictures of every dish they’re served! We took out of town friends to dinner and never got to converse with their two grown children who were transfixed to their cell phones! I’m ‘old school’ I suppose, but it used to be that meal times were times for pleasant conversation and anything short of that was plain bad manners.
BTW, you have a good blog going!
I completely agree with you in theory, and then find myself with a phone sitting on the table all too often, just in case! I wonder if the pendulum won’t swing back at some point, when people realize we may be sacrificing the present for the possibility. Thank you so much for the kind words, and for reading!