Don't Bring Your iPad to Dinner, Please

Today, in class, we briefly discussed if the advance in technology, and more specifically, advance of our cell phones have stunted our abilities to communicate. My answer to this is yes. Here's why.

I work as a waitress at a small Asian place in Germantown, TN. We have a family that comes in at least once a week, so we know their orders and their habits pretty well. There is the mom, the dad, a young boy, and a younger girl. They order edamame, chicken lettuce wraps, and pot stickers... every time. 

What makes this family stick out to us as the workers, and what makes it relevant to this conversation, is that every single member of this family brings an iPad to the restaurant. The parents have full sized iPads, and the children both have a mini iPad. They are all on their respective iPads throughout about an hour long dinner. 

Waiters and waitresses are much more observant than you might think... So, I have seen this family weekly for the past year and a half. They say roughly three sentences to one another the whole meal. The children are playing monopoly and car racing games, the dad is reading the news, and the mom is on Facebook. 

Whatever you make take from this, I see this as sad. It is very apparent to me that the children lack social skills that I would expect, considering their age.  

On a day to day basis, I see the awkward dates, where the wife is always on her cell phone while the husband awkwardly eats food silently. Or vice versa. 

I've done this as well, of course. It's hard to put down my phone. But I think it's important to spend time in the real world when there are real people around you, that you care about.