The society in which we live is changing. What was acceptable for many of us as children, is now part and parcel of everyday life. Many of lament the passing of manners and etiquette and that got us thinking about mobile phones at the reclaimed wood dining table.
We asked, you answered
And so we took to Houzz, Instagram and Facebook to ask our followers about mobile phone etiquette. But what did we discover?
Table manners – have they gone or just changed?
Eating as a family, at least once a day, is important – or so experts tell us – for valuing family life, our bonds and the connections we need to make to stay in touch with what is happening for everyone in our close-knit group. Whether you have reclaimed furniture or any other, this is what the dining table is made for.
Many of us don’t need ‘experts’ to tell us how important meal times are as a family. It is the place where we laugh, cry, talk, remain silent, argue, engage and more. To do so on a daily basis, usually the evening meal, is essential for maintaining connections.
But then the mobile phone came along and as it has evolved, so too has the way we use it. From social media to being in constant touch with everything happening in the world, the invisible knot that holds us tightly to our smartphone is tightening all the time.
But we wanted to know – is the use of a mobile phone at the wooden dining table acceptable? After all, this isn’t covered in the etiquette books of old. And what about using your phone whilst dining out – is this acceptable?
And you answered our questions…
Is it acceptable to use your mobile phone at the dinner table? Whether you cluster together on the dining table with bench, or relax with a sense of casual stylishness on upholstered dining chairs, the answer from the majority of voters was no.
In fact, 96% of people who responded across all three platforms said that the use of mobile phones at the home dining table, whether sitting on the dining bench or chairs was rude.
Interestingly, the proportion of people who thought using the mobile at the table whilst dining out was less, with 39% of people they didn’t think it was rude to do so.
The comments
People took time to comment, more so on these polls than any others we have posted. And feelings ran high with no sitting on the fence either.
It’s the epitome of bad manners said one respondent. Another comment perhaps sums up what we all feel about life today by commenting in today's busy lifestyle it's the very few times that we can actually all sit down together and talk about what's been going on.
Other people were more relaxed, saying they didn’t find it a problem unless, in the middle of a conversation, someone would get their phone out to text.
Have we lost dinner table etiquette?
It would seem not but most of our commentators did not think that life has changed and how we use the dining table is changing too.
What do you think? Is using your mobile at the meal times bad manners?
Yes it is rude. It decreases the opportunity for us to build meaningful relationships with each other. The phone is always available. Our family and friends aren’t. We should value the grace of time and honor it by giving our full attention to those who have sacrificed and made allowances with their time to share time with us.
Yes it is rude. It decreases the opportunity for us to build meaningful relationships with each other. The phone is always available. Our family and friends aren’t. We should value the grace of time and honor it by giving our full attention to those who have sacrificed and made allowances with their time to share time with us.