Today I was out to eat at a pretty busy restaurant when a family walks by. All three kids are carrying an iPad and have headphones on their head. Their show was so important that they walked to the table with the iPad in front of their face and headphones on. The big Beats that are perfect for blocking out all noise when you study…or when you’re out to eat with your family apparently. I watched all three children set up shop at the table behind mine. TV show pulled up, volume on loud and no eye contact made with each other. The children sat there in silence, watching their shows, never speaking words to each other or their parents. They did give the waitress an order and turned down the volume, at least I assume they did because the headphones never left their head. I honestly couldn't help myself from staring. I could not believe what I was witnessing. There are so many things both parent and child are missing out on.
This made my heart hurt because some of the best times spent with my family are spent laughing and catching up on each other’s day at the dinner table, even hours after dinner has ended. I couldn't imagine sitting there avoiding all social contact with my parents. Do they know what they are missing out on?? At the dinner table is where I told my parents things that wouldn't come up in normal conversation and could figure out solutions to things happening with my day.
My parents put an emphasis on spending time with each other. Because us kids were always running 12 different directions for sports and extracurricular activities, dinner was the only time we could catch up. If we were at the dinner table, no cell phones allowed. Even if you aren’t the one talking, the things your siblings are talking about are important too (even if you don't always think they are). This helped me become a better listener and allowed my siblings and I to become incredibly close.
We as a family are chatterboxes. But I would be offended if we were sitting around the dinner table talking and my sibling pulled out their phone to check twitter. There is no way Twitter is more important than whatever I am saying, no matter how minimal the subject is. As family, at least pretend to be interested. The second you zone out and disengage from a conversation, you have determined that person is not worth your time and that your social media endeavors are more important. It’s a subconscious habit to check Twitter or Instagram, but for it to be more important than catching up with your little brother or best friend? No way. Oftentimes conversation goes silent and people jump to their phone as a source of comfort. How about we start conversation up again instead of filling up that silence with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter updates.
The time you get to spend with your family should be valued. I feel that a 50-minute TV show shouldn't ever replace that. Technology is taking over and really taking away from the things in life that are actually important. Our ability as a society to communicate face-to face and even talking over the phone is decreasing significantly. People would much rather type out a text message or send an email than actually converse with a person. It is also taking away from the valuable time spent with your family. That time is so short and I would regret a lot if I spent most of it staring at a phone screen instead of engaging with those around me.
