[AlaninCarlisle]

I was out for lunch in a country pub last week a few miles out of Carlisle with an old mate. We meet up every month or so.

Occupying the next table was a family of four, two youngsters, a girl of maybe 11 and a slightly older lad, maybe 13  with mum and dad. Throughout the entire hour we were in there, all four family members played non-stop with their phones, never once spoke to each other and even when eating, their eyes and fingers of one hand never left their phones. Both my mate and I were fascinated at their behaviour but shocked at the standards apparently condoned by their obviously comfortably well-off parents.

Talking to others, it seems as if I live a sheltered life as this kind of behaviour is now totally normal in most pubs and cafes. Same where you live?

[jaydig]

Exactly the same where we live, to the extent that I am seriously considering putting a box near our front door into which ALL mobile phones, tablets etc must be deposited and then collected on the way out.
Do you think it will work??  We sometimes wonder why some people bother coming round to visit at all, as there is no conversation or communication whatsoever.
When we were younger we were always told that if visitors came the tv had to be turned off.  How do these people ever manage to develop personal relationships?

[DanielCoffey]

How do these people ever manage to develop personal relationships?

There's an App for that.

[Tenhens]

Totally agree with the abhorrence of this ' modern living '.
Apparently the ' average' person checks their phone 90 times a day which confirms what they told me at school - I'm below average'     I doubt I look at mine 90 times a year.

I fear it will only get worse.

If you want to get away from it all try a cruise , we did one last year total switch off , apparently there was no signal, such a shame , the phone was used as a camera to capture some lovely memories. We  met some lovely people and chatted .

[mrs bouquet]

We have exactly the same problem here.   Mums on the bus totally ignore naughty children, old people on the bus, "Oh, I have just got on, should be home in about 30 minutes"  !!!!!  Restaurants, High Streets,  Go  on get run over by that car, 'cause you didn't look, you were on the 'phone.   They get so cross as well, if they walk into one, because they are on the 'phone,  it makes me cross too.      Social graces and interaction are a thing of the past I am afraid.   Must go, blood pressures going up.    Mrs Bouquet 

[al78]

A sample size of one family means nothing. There are plenty of people out there who aren't welded to their phones. Don't fall into the projection fallacy.

[mumofstig]

A sample size of one family means nothing. There are plenty of people out there who aren't welded to their phones. Don't fall into the projection fallacy.

We can only write about and make judgement on, what we ourselves actually see.
If we see it repeated often enough, then that's what we assume is the new normal.
You may not see the same thing at all, if you live in a different neighbourhood, but that doesn't make the rest of us wrong, though

[JayG]

If I were to dwell too long on all the things that ain't wot they used to be I'd be an extremely miserable and grumpy old g1t (becoming an old g1t is bad enough on its own!)

Not always easy keeping the rose-tinted nostalgia at bay, but today's society is what it is, good and bad, and I suppose in one way or another we should all take some of the responsibility for that.

[Goosegirl]

I am also fed up with those people whose ears and/ or fingers are permanently attached to their mobile phones, but at the same time I feel sorry for them because they've nowt better to do. 

[AlaninCarlisle]

The Devil makes work for idle hands?

[RubyRed]

  I work in a supermarket and if anyone comes to me on the phone i don't speak to them but scan all their shopping very quickly , tell them how much and wait for them to fumble with a bag, then pack and pay. Some also come through with various headphones clamped to their ears, I take this as they don't want to communicate so I don't. These people find it easy to socialise by various media but totally ignorant on how to behave face to face. Pity their kids.

[jaydig]

How do these people ever manage to develop personal relationships?

There's an App for that.

It's a shame that there isn't an app to teach basic good manners!

[Plot 1 Problems]

  I work in a supermarket and if anyone comes to me on the phone i don't speak to them but scan all their shopping very quickly , tell them how much and wait for them to fumble with a bag, then pack and pay. Some also come through with various headphones clamped to their ears, I take this as they don't want to communicate so I don't. These people find it easy to socialise by various media but totally ignorant on how to behave face to face. Pity their kids.

I hate to see people do that. I always make a point of removing my headphones as I approach the till and take the time to talk to the staff. Good manners cost nothing.

[al78]

A sample size of one family means nothing. There are plenty of people out there who aren't welded to their phones. Don't fall into the projection fallacy.

We can only write about and make judgement on, what we ourselves actually see.
If we see it repeated often enough, then that's what we assume is the new normal.
You may not see the same thing at all, if you live in a different neighbourhood, but that doesn't make the rest of us wrong, though

I am not questioning your observations, I am questioning the act of projecting from a small sample of observations to a population, which is (like it or not), a logical fallacy.

The key word in your above statement is "assume". ASSUME makes an ASS of U and ME.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faulty_generalization

[AlaninCarlisle]

It's called a pedant's revolt