Is it rude to use your cell phone at the dinner table?
My teenagers are constantly on their phones, even at the dinner table. My spouse says it's no big deal and times are changing. I think it's rude and disconnecting. Is there an etiquette around phones at meals? Should I make a no-phones-at-dinner rule, or am I being old-fashioned?
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3 Answers
There's a difference between something being rude and something just being different from what you're used to. I try to ask myself that whenever I get annoyed by how other people do things. Usually it's just different, not wrong.
I used to have a strong opinion on this and then I lived in another part of the country for a few years and completely changed my mind. Travel does that. What seems obvious where you grew up isn't obvious everywhere.
My grandmother always said the more things change, the more they stay the same. Every generation thinks the one after it is going to ruin everything, and somehow the world keeps turning. I try to keep that perspective.
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