Well, around our house, if nobody is talking, it’s because the food is REALLY good. But otherwise the usual round of “how was your day?”, “what did you learn in school today?”, “anything funny happen today?” and such usually work fine for us. But our family made dinner a priority over the years. Some don’t.
My folks had 8 children- 4 boys and 4 girls. My Dad had a rule at the dinner table that we kids were to be quiet. Why you ask? Because we always got in fights. Yup he was 100% right. So we ate quietly, thankful for every bite since we had no welfare in those days.
Then we resumed our fights after dinner.
I went to a family reunion recently. At the dinner table, everyone over 40 was conversing. But everyone under 40 was glued to their cell phones. I guess that’s the new normal.
But it’s a damn shame. Some of the folks at that table were quite old. And they had some interesting things to say. But the younger folks never heard them.
Smartphone zombies.
We live in an area considered a resort/vacation destination (Kona). Several decent restaurants. Wife and I (mostly me, the curmudgeon) get a laugh out of the tourists.
Often, a couple or more will sit at a table in a tropical paradise, all looking at their iFag phones, not talking or admiring the view at all. If sunset comes, a stampede to take pictures, with the iFag of course.
Food comes, all take pictures of the dinner. More iFag activity. They finally eat, with frequent glances at the GD phone things.
No talking to each other. Very weird people. Two younger kids not even having cursory communication is just freaking strange.
Not a whole lot different than in the CNN and MSNBC cafeterias after the phone call transcripts were released.
“A fool is known by his speech; and a wise man by his silence.” Pythagoras
rwood
Funny, I had a friend just quit a new job over this...
Small office setting, about a dozen people, had been there about 6 weeks. Every time he tried to talk to somebody in the break room or whatever, he would ask what used to be normal every day small talk, questions like what did you do over the weekend, or how was your commute in... and the response was always WHY?
Said his final straw was asking the guy in the next cubicle a simple work related question on how to do something and he replied send me an IM. So at the end of the day, he went and told his boss that it just was not working out, he refused to work in a setting where nobody would talk to him all day long!
Tech at breakfast is allowed for catch up in the mornings.
It’s verboten at lunch and dinner.
Period.
I’m finding people mumble more and speak less.
I told my family to pipe down while I’m reading this thread.