What Raeford said:
Couples sitting at a table never speaking a word to each other-both 100% involved with their phones.
Face-to-face verbal conversation is a thing of the past.
Yes. I was in a large hospital cafeteria a couple days back and saw that exact thing almost universally practiced. Pairs to 3 or 4 plop down to lunch, and there's zero conversation. Each and every one silently dove into their screens. Sad.
Several months back near the same thing at a restaurant. Four young ladies at a table but only three had phones. Three into their screens and the fourth ignored. I thought about it but did not wave her over for some conversation.
I was teaching a Hunter Ed class a couple weeks back and during every break the young teen ladies all went for their phones. Their objective was a selfie acquisition making some weird face about every 30 seconds.
Our son came of age in the early cell realm just as he finished high school and started college. It was a stretch for him to graduate high school. His college phone bills revealed he was online or connected with his then distant lady friend for about half of his waking hours. Time stamps showed he was not in class, and when grades came out, he had none because he was never there. I suspect he was gaming for the balance of his waking hours. Needless to say, we refused to fund another quarter. If he was to continue school he would pay his own way, and we would renew support if satisfactory grades came in. That never happened.
Same deal when we purchased a laptop precollege for him and went on a vacation just before school started. I would wake at 02:00 for a bathroom run and he'd be online gaming. After the college dropout deal it was a struggle to get him up and out, as he was simply not getting to bed until about 3 or 4 AM every night. Clearly addicted.
After a year at home doing Subway, he thankfully went east to move in with a cyber girlfriend. That was a blessing, as I was nearing the end of my rope. He did entry-level fast-food jobs into his early 30's but has finally broken out of that realm and is now an intern chef at a high-end eatery.
If we could have a do over, electronics might not enter the home until young son's exit.
I will admit to having a cell phone. It lives atop the mirowave, needs charging about once and month, and only three people have my number. There about 6 pics onboard (they're all Cookie's wildlife shots).
