Pope instructs followers to put the iPhone away during dinner - Polidicks

[QUOTE=wootmonster;49114171]Enjoy your food and be present in the moment. You can do that later.[/QUOTE] Jesus christ... It's like I'm reading my aunt's facebook feed or something. [editline]14th November 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=SIRIUS;49114337]Completely disagree[/QUOTE] Ok? Good for you. I don't agree with your disagreement. This whole "s-smartphones are turning our generation into zombies!!!" makes me cringe like nothing else, it is a huge group of people talking out of their rear and then acting all holier-than-thou about it, hell just look at this thread. [I]I am an enlightened being because I put my phone inside a safe with a passcode when it's time to have lunch[/I] Give me a break. I will agree that staring a phone does usually decrease the quality of the conversation and that when you are talking to someone or being talked to you should be looking at them, I myself feel like it's disrespectful not to. But to sit here and act like a phone is something that blocks all sensory input and that you can't listen to a conversation and look at pictures of cats at the same time is a mindset that needs to stop, and every time I see another pretentious art piece that does social commentary on smartphones like [I]ooooh we're all doooomed[/I] makes me cringe a little harder. I mean, did you see that ridiculous ad that some idiot made urging people not to use their phones on the street because they might miss meeting the love of their life? He titled the video "look up" or something and made it all pretentious. [I]You are using your smartphone, you are not present, you are not seeing the beautiful world in front of you, you are staring at a void(...)[/I] That was a crock of shit and I am tired of this nonsense being shoved down our holes just because when we're sitting somewhere doing nothing we choose to look at twitter or something as opposed to counting the leaves a tree has.

[QUOTE=Araknid;49115454]tbh it's basic manners to look at a person if you're talking to them rather than just starting at your phone. I know I fucking hate it when I'm talking to someone and they won't look up from their phone.[/QUOTE] maybe they just dont want to talk to you. i have more than a few coworkers that i havent made eye-contact with in months because idc what theyre talking about, but they just keep yapping on. ill just play on my phone and let them talk until one of us has to leave

I somewhat agree, but I don't think it's automatically a bad thing. I think that if you're having a conversation with someone in the present, and you're texting someone else, you're not fully engaged with the person in the present. (Are you fully engaged with your car when you are driving whilst texting? No. I believe that you are also not fully engaged with your conversational partner while also texting someone else.) However, smartphones, like with all technology, can be used responsibly and can be used to bring people closer together. Sometimes in a conversation we might use our phone to help share something. Maybe to share a funny image or a family photo, or to remember a headline to use as conversation, or simply to remember the name of that movie. In these contexts, we are using the technology to grow closer to our conversational partners and are using it to further engage ourselves in that moment. So in that instance it can be a powerful tool. So I agree with the spirit of what the Pope says, which is to try to cut out distractions from our intimate together times. However, the smartphone doesn't necessarily need to be at odds with that goal.

Also I don't understand why anyone thinks a TV would stop someone from having a conversation during a meal, I've never seen anyone pay attention to a TV during lunch or dinner for more than 5 minutes if something really interesting comes up on the news; It's mostly just background noise, which is almost required.

[QUOTE=Anti Christ;49116224]maybe they just dont want to talk to you. i have more than a few coworkers that i havent made eye-contact with in months because idc what theyre talking about, but they just keep yapping on. ill just play on my phone and let them talk until one of us has to leave[/QUOTE] "I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood to talk right now, I'd love to talk to you later. Can you please leave me alone for now?" It's possible to be polite to someone and say you want to be left alone, without just passive-aggressively typing on your phone and going "uh-hu" and spinelessly hoping the other person gets the hint. [editline]14th November 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=*Freezorg*;49116304]Also I don't understand why anyone thinks a TV would stop someone from having a conversation during a meal, I've never seen anyone pay attention to a TV during lunch or dinner for more than 5 minutes if something really interesting comes up on the news; It's mostly just background noise, which is almost required.[/QUOTE] A family tradition in our house is to keep Jeopardy on during dinner and play the game together. Again, using technology to help us grow.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;49116312]"I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood to talk right now, I'd love to talk to you later. Can you please leave me alone for now?" [/QUOTE] That just makes you sound like a woman on her period. And it's not necessarily passive-agressive; you just sit there doing acceptable responses to what is being said to you and pretend you actually care. You're also implying that I [I]would[/I] love to talk to them later which in this context isn't true at all. It's the sort of situation where you don't really care about someone and you aren't interested in what they have to say but you don't wanna be an asshole and ignore/dismiss them so you take the middle ground and half-ass it. It's great.

[QUOTE=*Freezorg*;49116320]That just makes you sound like a woman on her period. And it's not necessarily passive-agressive; you just sit there doing acceptable responses to what is being said to you and pretend you actually care.[/QUOTE] Everyone is different I suppose, but I would rather be told up front that someone isn't interested rather than they pretend they were interested just for my sake. And you don't need to say it just like that. All you are doing is respectfully stating your intentions at the moment. That does not make you look like a "Woman with a period", whatever that means. [editline]14th November 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=*Freezorg*;49116320]You're also implying that I [I]would[/I] love to talk to them later which in this context isn't true at all. It's the sort of situation where you don't really care about someone and you aren't interested in what they have to say but you don't wanna be an asshole and ignore/dismiss them so you take the middle ground and half-ass it. It's great.[/QUOTE] Then say "Sorry, I'm not particularly interested in Football," or whatever. We're all adults (I assume), we are capable of stating our intentions without having to be rude or inconsiderate. All of these alternatives you are presenting come off as simply not understanding how to socialize.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;49116341]Everyone is different I suppose, but I would rather be told up front that someone isn't interested rather than they pretend they were interested just for my sake. And you don't need to say it just like that. All you are doing is respectfully stating your intentions at the moment. That does not make you look like a "Woman with a period", whatever that means. [editline]14th November 2015[/editline] Then say "Sorry, I'm not particularly interested in Football," or whatever. We're all adults (I assume), we are capable of stating our intentions without having to be rude or inconsiderate. All of these alternatives you are presenting come off as simply not understanding how to socialize.[/QUOTE] What you are suggesting is, every single day during many months, just going "I'm not interested in this topic". That's... kind of weird, really. And it's useful to keep people in a friendly standing with you, even if you're not interested in talking to them at all.

[QUOTE=*Freezorg*;49116354]What you are suggesting is, every single day during many months, just going "I'm not interested". That's... kind of weird, really. And it's useful to keep people in a friendly standing with you, even if you're not interested in talking to them at all.[/QUOTE] I mean, if you're that antisocial that you can't even have the basest level of interest in what other people are telling you, I legitimately don't know what to tell you.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;49116360]I mean, if you're that antisocial that you can't even have the basest level of interest in what other people are telling you, I legitimately don't know what to tell you.[/QUOTE] The example I'm using is some folks at my college, classmates. Unlike with my actual friends, they don't share any hobbies or interests with me. Our lifestyles are completely different and incompatible. I am interested in absolutely nothing they have to say and would honestly be happy never seeing them again, but since I have to put up with them for another year and may have to cooperate with them for college purposes, I do my best at pretending to care. And also because they haven't ever said anything to wrong me and do act friendly towards me, the least I can do is show the same respect in return, I'm just not interested in them.

[QUOTE=*Freezorg*;49116198]Jesus christ... It's like I'm reading my aunt's facebook feed or something. [editline]14th November 2015[/editline] Ok? Good for you. I don't agree with your disagreement. This whole "s-smartphones are turning our generation into zombies!!!" makes me cringe like nothing else, it is a huge group of people talking out of their rear and then acting all holier-than-thou about it, hell just look at this thread. [I]I am an enlightened being because I put my phone inside a safe with a passcode when it's time to have lunch[/I] Give me a break. I will agree that staring a phone does usually decrease the quality of the conversation and that when you are talking to someone or being talked to you should be looking at them, I myself feel like it's disrespectful not to. But to sit here and act like a phone is something that blocks all sensory input and that you can't listen to a conversation and look at pictures of cats at the same time is a mindset that needs to stop, and every time I see another pretentious art piece that does social commentary on smartphones like [I]ooooh we're all doooomed[/I] makes me cringe a little harder. I mean, did you see that ridiculous ad that some idiot made urging people not to use their phones on the street because they might miss meeting the love of their life? He titled the video "look up" or something and made it all pretentious. [I]You are using your smartphone, you are not present, you are not seeing the beautiful world in front of you, you are staring at a void(...)[/I] That was a crock of shit and I am tired of this nonsense being shoved down our holes just because when we're sitting somewhere doing nothing we choose to look at twitter or something as opposed to counting the leaves a tree has.[/QUOTE] Holy cow, such frustration and anger over people asking for just a bit of common decency in everyday life. Maybe you should talk it over with someone in person... without a smartphone.

[QUOTE=*Freezorg*;49116364]The example I'm using is some folks at my college, classmates. Unlike with my actual friends, they don't share any hobbies or interests with me. Our lifestyles are completely different and incompatible. I am interested in absolutely nothing they have to say and would honestly be happy never seeing them again, but since I have to put up with them for another year and may have to cooperate with them for college purposes, I do my best at pretending to care.[/QUOTE] But some of the best conversations I've had in college were with people with whom I've had nothing in common with. I have no interest in nursing but I learned a lot talking with my nursing peers. I have no interest in football but I enjoyed conversing with my football-playing peers, because they introduced me to concepts with which I wasn't familiar with, and in turn I introduced them to new concepts. I once had to give a speech about robots and programming to a room full of people who had no interest in robots and programming and was later told I had the best speech in the class. And I would consider myself an introvert. I'm not trying to pass judgement or be insulting when I say antisocial, because I am too to a degree. I'm just saying maybe try to politely decline conversations or to at least try to show genuine interest in other people and learn more things and open your mind. I don't find retreating back into your own world and your own smartphone every single time to be an acceptable response when there's this big world with so many interesting people in it. This is how I made friends and grew as a person.

[QUOTE=AntonioR;49116368]Holy cow, such frustration and anger over people asking for just a bit of common decency in everyday life. Maybe you should talk it over with someone in person... without a smartphone.[/QUOTE] The problem is precisely that, people believing that a smartphone is incompatible with "common decency". Technophobes, if you will. What I was ranting about was the people that get triggered about people in the streets walking around with their smartphones out. Hell, I made that post but I don't even spend that much time on my phone, I'm not the sort of person who needs to have their phone outside their pocket at all times taking selfies every five minutes and constantly checking social networks/imgur/4chan/whatever when sitting somewhere. We're talking two opposite ends of a spectrum here, and neither is good. I mean, if people make this much of a fuss about smartphones, even just casual waiting-for-the-bus use of them, I can't wait to see what it'll be like when VR takes off. It won't be pretty.

While I wouldn't dare pull out my phone at dinner with strangers, it's the norm with my friends and family. We all do it around each other, and somehow miraculously manage to have normal conversations at the same time. Just use some discretion is all; it's pretty common sense when you should and shouldnt be using your phone around other people. [QUOTE=AntonioR;49116368]Holy cow, such frustration and anger over people asking for just a bit of common decency in everyday life. Maybe you should talk it over with someone in person... without a smartphone.[/QUOTE] I'd be pretty frustrated too if the trendy thing to do was to pass judgement on people you don't even know for using their phones how they see fit.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;49116312]"I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood to talk right now, I'd love to talk to you later. Can you please leave me alone for now?" It's possible to be polite to someone and say you want to be left alone, without just passive-aggressively typing on your phone and going "uh-hu" and spinelessly hoping the other person gets the hint.[/QUOTE] i dont have a lot to say that freezorg hasnt already said for me (and better than i could as well). i dont know this person, i share nothing with this person except for our place of employment (we dont even do the same job), i dont know as much as her name, i have literally nothing to do with her except that we see each other some days. but some people feel the need to talk and talk and so i let them. hell, half the time when im being talked at, i have headphones on and im not even acknowledging the person talking at me. i just want to spend my 15 minute lunch break listening to a song i enjoy, i dont care about your family or sports or your hobby (that i dont share). why do i have to stop what im actually invested in to pretend to give half a damn about whatever meaningless babble someone else wants to spout at me? [editline]14th November 2015[/editline] im not at work trying to make friends or meet people. im at work so i have a place to sleep and food to eat. if you want to talk, find someone else that wants to talk. dont get upset at me and say society needs to change to suit the way [B]you[/B] want to live your life.

Making connections in professional environments is a great way to get better jobs or pay down the line, and is good for your mental health.

[QUOTE=Mister Sandman;49114107]Except there's such a thing as multitasking, where you can talk and use your phone at the same time. And use your phone to show family members pictures, articles, whatever, which actually enhances conversation anyway. So, shan't, Francis.[/QUOTE] Multitasking doesnt exist, its more changing tasks super quick to do stuff.

im not sacrificing a career by not talking to an overly chatty coworker. im not sacrificing my mental health by avoiding something that actively makes me unhappy (seriously, what kind of logic is that?) in fact: i have to talk to customers all day of every day. i have to pretend to be happy and smile while im insulted, spit on, and yelled at. i think its [B]perfectly[/B] reasonable to want my lunch to myself, and its completely rude to sit there and talk at me while i have headphones on, clearly trying to do something else. not everyone wants to talk 24/7.

[QUOTE=Anti Christ;49116582]in fact: i have to talk to customers all day of every day. i have to pretend to be happy and smile while im insulted, spit on, and yelled at. i think its [B]perfectly[/B] reasonable to want my lunch to myself, and its completely rude to sit there and talk at me while i have headphones on, clearly trying to do something else. not everyone wants to talk 24/7.[/QUOTE] People always say this, but I worked in customer service for years and found probably 95% to be generally pleasant people. I often wonder if people who have problems with a lot of customers bring it upon themselves.

I absolutely use my work attitude everywhere in my life, I talk to everyone I can and give them my total attention. It's a shame so many people dismiss a stranger's conversation 'cause I don't really care' or things like that, they miss out on so much its insane. There's a reason people with a lot of money are always socializing, networking is essential to success tbh unless you're like some shutin inventor [editline]14th November 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=sgman91;49116624]People always say this, but I worked in customer service for years and found probably 95% to be generally pleasant people. I often wonder if people who have problems with a lot of customers bring it upon themselves.[/QUOTE] I've got some unhappy people sometimes, usually I just ask them what's on their mind and make a nice chat out of it. People regularly mistake 'going through tough shit' with 'they're a fucking dick' and act like their job is soooo difficult because of it, when in all actuality its primarily their own fault for being bad at reading people/socializing

[QUOTE=sgman91;49116624]People always say this, but I worked in customer service for years and found probably 95% to be generally pleasant people. I often wonder if people who have problems with a lot of customers bring it upon themselves.[/QUOTE] i work at a grocery store where the main gimmick is that we'll do everything but lick your ass. ive had much better working experiences at other places, but this specific chain is pretty miserable. [editline]14th November 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=No Party Hats;49116628]I've got some unhappy people sometimes, usually I just ask them what's on their mind and make a nice chat out of it. People regularly mistake 'going through tough shit' with 'they're a fucking dick' and act like their job is soooo difficult because of it, when in all actuality its primarily their own fault for being bad at reading people/socializing[/QUOTE] i once made the mistake of asking a customer why he looked upset. he told me to "fucking die" and that i work where i do because im a "fucking idiot". if that were a one-off thing, fine. but its a pretty regular occurrence. especially on sundays when the retirement home drops off their patients (i dont know if thats the right word, but you know what i mean) [editline]14th November 2015[/editline] ive actually been reminiscing about working in fast food lately, when comparing it to where i am now lol

Well that's customer service for ya, just gotta take it in stride tbf

and i do all of it with a smile because its my job. however, its not my job to pretend to care what my chatty coworkers are saying, so i dont.

[QUOTE=onebit;49116731]You can't process stuff you don't pay attention to. You're just hearing the words and going "okay", "okay", "okay", "okay", "okay", "okay", without actually comprehending whatever is heard. At some point a few words will cluster and you'll think "oh I know something about these words", and you shift attention. But you missed out on everything else. Getting to see some colored pixels, but missing out on the human experience.[/QUOTE] You are projecting so hard.

[QUOTE=Mister Sandman;49114268]This seems a hell of a lot like advice one gives instead of follows I wonder how many people in this thread actually sit down around a dinner table every night and don't use phones or watch tv or anything, I wonder how many of you have ate dinner at your computer, or watched tv during it, or read a book, in the past month or so[/QUOTE] The last time I sat down at the dinner table to eat dinner I still needed a booster seat in the car. [editline]14th November 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=onebit;49116731]Getting to see some colored pixels, but missing out on the human experience.[/QUOTE] When I pull my phone out at the table that's precisely what I want to do. But I'm one of those oddballs that doesn't really like the human experience all that much.

[QUOTE=No Party Hats;49115340]If you actually read it you wouldn't be making yourself look so goofy right now[/QUOTE] He was too busy checking his phone.

I bet the pope has an Android

Who even uses their phones at the dinner table like what are you even gonna do on it that can't wait like 5-10 minutes.

[QUOTE=cdr248;49117634]Who even uses their phones at the dinner table like what are you even gonna do on it that can't wait like 5-10 minutes.[/QUOTE] honest question: do you actually have a dinner table? i havent lived with anyone that has had one in my entire life. ive visited friends that had one but they never used it. ive never seen a family that actually sits together to eat

[QUOTE=Anti Christ;49117654]honest question: do you actually have a dinner table? i havent lived with anyone that has had one in my entire life. ive visited friends that had one but they never used it. ive never seen a family that actually sits together to eat[/QUOTE] This is so alien to me, any time I'm at my parents we all eat together at the table. If I go over a relatives house, we all eat together at the table. I mean yeah if I'm at a friends house or just a home I'm not going to sit at the table; but if we're talking I'm also not going to keep checking my phone every 5 minutes to find out the hottest news on the latest anime memes