Last night while at dinner with my Mom, Sister and Aunt I happened to notice a family sit down at a booth near us. It was a Mom, Dad and what looked to be 2 1/2 year old little boy. Before they even received their drinks the parents pulled out I-Pads. The little boy just sat there looking around. The waitress came and took their order and the parents went right back to what they were doing. I don't think I heard them speak 3 words to the little boy. They received their food, and while eating were still playing on the I-Pads. At one point, the Mom even pulled out a cell phone and began laughing while she read something. The whole time the little boy just sat there, looking bored out of his mind. I couldn't believe it. What was the point in going out to dinner if they were all going to ignore each other and just play on their I-Pads and phones. Couldn't they just do that at home? I wanted so badly to go over to the table and ask if the little boy could join our table so the parents could be alone with their technology.
While I was driving home I couldn't help but still be angry at what I saw. But then I began to wonder how guilty of this I was. Sometimes at dinner I do check my email, or check in on Facebook. However it's not constant. When I'm out to dinner with my family (which is not often) I like to actually enjoy their company. If I wanted to ignore them while on my phone the entire time I could just stay home and save some money.
I happen to know many people (parents and non parents) who can't seem to put their phones down while socializing. I understand that sometimes there is something going on and we need to be kept up to date on things, or maybe we are waiting for an important email or phone call. We have all been there. However I think there is a fine line between the two situations.
I'm making a promise to myself to no longer have my phone near me when we are having meals together. My family is more important than any status update or friend request.
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