Ok, at risk at sounding like a boomer, let me preface by mentioning a couple of things: I am in my mid 30's, and I have always hated cell phones. I hated them when they first came out, I hate them now, and I will always hate them into the future. I hate the expectation that I should be available all of the time, and I haven't owned one for about a decade.
With that out of the way ...
I was at a (Canadian) Thanksgiving dinner last night. My friend had prepared a very nice dinner for all of us, and a few people brought their own offerings. They were all from a political group that is active on a local campus, so a couple of the people that attended were pretty young.
They spent about half the night staring into their cell phones, at the dinner table where our host had spent hours preparing a nice meal for all of us.
Is this considered "normal" now? I was always under the impression that cell phones should not be used at the dinner table, let alone at a fucking Thanksgiving meal. This is not behaviour that I would allow from my child let alone a fully grown adult.
Am I just old now, and is this now acceptable? Am I just being an old curmudgeon?
I think it is a sign of rampant social anxiety in the population. I know a ton of people who get mad anxiety talking on the phone, even more from talking in person with people they don't know well.
I don't really want to excuse it because people who suck at communicating are going to have a diminished quality of life overall - so it's similar to my stance on addictions; combat it where possible while not blaming the victim and instead being supportive of them.
And then some people are just rude/self-absorbed and they can kick rocks.
Because sound quality over the phone is terrible. I can’t make out what the other person is saying at all.
no facial expressions or body language doesn't help either
I understand frustration with the medium, but anxiety? Everyone I'm referring to clearly cites anxiety.