I was in a crowded, but unusual room recently: a buzzing dining hall filled with 200 people, all talking enthusiastically.

Yet there wasn’t a single screen to be seen. There were no couples staring hypnotically at their phones instead of each other.

No one was sneaking glances at their texts beneath the table. No dinging alerts, loud phone conversations or apologies like: 

“Sorry, it’s an emergency, I have to take this. My cat is lonely and I need to talk to her on speakerphone.”

I was in London having dinner at a friend’s informal arts club restaurant where there were only two rules:

There was a huge 20-person oval table for people who had come alone, but with no phones there was nothing to do but talk to your neighbours, often strangers.

Overall, it was enforced socialization, and everyone seemed happier for it.

It was a reminder of another era when people only chatted face to face, not phone to phone. And I realized how much I missed it.

Increasingly, there are rules banning phones and social media in schools, including in Quebec. It’s a good start. But the truth is we could all use that ban. 

We used to tell our kids not to gaze at their phones around other people or during meals. But now almost everyone does, because we’re owned by our phones.

News junkies like me are hooked on the latest 24/7........

© Montreal Gazette