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Texting and Other Gadget Use Is Bad Form at Dinner (Duh!)

by Tim Stevens on June 1, 2009 at 06:03 AM

Texting and Other Gadget Use is Bad Form at DinnerEver check a text message or take a phone call at the dinner table? Maybe sneak a glance at that e-mail which just set your BlackBerry abuzz? Shame on you, says Dr. Cindy Post Senning in a recent New York Times article. Author of the new "Emily Post's Table Manners for Kids," Dr. Post Senning admonishes any sort of gadget use at the dinner table.

She reminds us: "The family meal is a social event, a food ingestion event." In other words, you're there to discuss the day, plan family happenings, and in general form some sort of bond that might just make you a happier family overall. That can all be ruined when one or more people are looking downward at cellies they think they're being sly with. The effects are sometimes even seen by marriage counselors, according to the article, as disputes over appropriate levels of tech-connectedness drive some couples apart.

There are, of course, some families who actively use their phones during dinner in order to look up answers to questions that kids might ask, or to settle familial debates. In general, though, a strict policy seems to be the safest: no gadgets at dinner. [From: The New York Times]

Tags: blackberry, cell phone, CellPhone, etiquette, family, iphone, tech etiquette, TechEtiquette, texting, top

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