Live, Don't Document
Which side are you on? Texting at the table or not? Taking a call while eating dinner or should that be forbidden? According to a recent study, 84 percent of Americans say both are a no-no, and 87 percent say never, with guests. Yet, why do we still see so many people doing it? Out to dinner not long ago, we sat near a couple, so intent on their smartphones, they only spoke to the waiter, telling him what they wanted. Sherry Turkle writes today at The New York Times that we are so busy documenting our lives, with our selfies and blogs and Facebook posts about everything we do from brushing our teeth to listening to certain songs to what we ate for dinner (who cares?), that we don't live. Turkle says we just don't talk any more. " We interrupt conversations for documentation all the time," she writes. Or worse, observe. Reflect. Think. "A selfie, like any photograph, interrupts experience to mark the moment. In this, it sh...