The phone buzzes, and before anyone notices, half the table is looking down instead of at each other. Is it rude to check your phone during a meal with friends?
A near-universal habit that almost everyone will also tell you they find irritating when someone else does it.
What happened
Phone use at the table has become common enough that some restaurants and households have started introducing informal phone-stacking games or bans to counter it.
Why people disagree
Critics see it as a small but real erosion of attention and connection during time meant to be shared. Defenders point out that messages and notifications are often genuinely time-sensitive, and that briefly checking a phone isn't the same as disengaging from the conversation.
What's still unclear
Whether the norm should depend on how long the check takes, or whether any phone use at the table crosses a line regardless of duration.
Sources
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