Have you ever met up with friends for drinks or dinner and one or two or all of them are surfing the Internet, Facebooking, or texting instead of engaging in conversation?
In today’s world, easy access to seemingly unlimited technology — hyperconnectivity — has made this a common encounter when socializing with a group of individuals.
It drives me nuts.
Not just because I want to have an engaging conversation with my friends, but because I catch myself committing this crime too.
So I stole an idea from my lovely cousin Haley and created a game: The Phone Game.
It’s simple and effective, and the game will create a more positive experience for you and your friends.
The rules of The Phone Game
When going out with friends for dinner or drinks, I simply request that everyone in the group put their cell phone on silent and set it in the middle of the table.
The first person to grab a cell phone loses.
The loser is then required to purchase a rounds of drinks or foot the dinner bill. Depending on the size of your group or the venue you choose, the penalty for touching your phone could be costly.
Each time I have played this game, there is usually some initial hesitation and resistance, but it disappears when I explain that everyone has committed to the social gathering with a common goal: to spend time with each other, not whoever is on the other end of one of our phones.
Try it … it works
It’s amazing how this simple game transforms your dinner conversations and overall social experience.
We have deeper more meaningful conversations and learn more about the changes in our friends’ lives. We connect and engage on a new level and not a superficial one.
Next time you are out with friends and catch someone browsing Instagram or Twitter, suggest that your group play the phone game.
It will probably result in the most fun you’ve all had together in a long, long time.
Spread the word
Share this graphic on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, G+, Twitter, or wherever else you help spread big ideas. Let’s all do our part to end this rude, unnecessary scourge on social graces.
*****
P.S. When you use it, be sure to come back here to the comment section or tweet me and let me know how it goes.
Image source: Dewlines.org
Tried it before. On a few occasions. It worked, of course but after that, it’s back to square one. I guess it has become the norm. A ‘standard’ behaviour, for want of a better term. And it seems I’m the minority. So I have a better solution – instead of getting very, very pissed at how my so-called companions drop their heads the moment ordering is done (I mean, they don’t even listen when the server repeats our orders!) , I have chosen to go for lunch on my own. I mean, I am the minority here, so no point throwing up a fuss, only to have people wonder what I am upset about! The quest to find like-minded individuals continues.