“Seth, put that thing away.” My friend rolls his eyes. “Why, mom? I was just about to kill the ender dragon in Minecraft.” His mother sighs and says “It’s your brother’s birthday, and we are at a semi-formal hibachi restaurant. This is not the place to …show more content…
In order to do this, I attempt to ignore what my friends are doing and instead look at the people sitting at the table across from ours. It is a group of teenagers texting each other from across the table; they are completely silent. I start to roll my eyes at how ridiculous they look, then freeze and say to myself “oh my gosh.” It hit me then and there that many aspects of technology are more than just a little anti-social; instead, they are entirely anti-social. I then catch a snippet of the conversation going on between my father and my friends’ grandfather, Tim: “They are ruining their lives with this stuff. I can’t believe their parents don’t put a stop to it. And –.” “Maybe you should,” I interrupt. Tim looks at me and states that he would rather not offend them. “You are their grandfather, though. They should realize that you have their best interests at heart.” He thinks about this for a little bit. “Maybe, but they’re young, so I doubt that they realize that I only have their best interests in mind. However, their addiction to their phones and video games might also be enough to cloud their minds.” I pause. “That is an interesting dilemma. But maybe you should make them see the truth. Show them that their video games aren’t the way to go. That their games will distract them from their schoolwork and negatively impact …show more content…
My father pays our bill, and my friends’ father pays theirs. As everyone walks to the door, I think to myself “Wow, what a profound concept. I knew beforehand that video gaming at a social event is not necessarily polite, but I never fully realized why. It was only here that I finally had a revelation that video gaming and texting in public is anti-social. It was blatantly obvious tonight. The teens at the table across from us, for example, were communicating with each other, but they were not really socializing, and while my own friends were playing, I really felt dismally abandoned. Now I understand why I was never allowed to bring games with me to a restaurant.” Finally, we are at the exit and are saying our farewells. As I hug Tim goodbye, he smiles and says “Wink, wink. Nod, nod. Say no more, say no more.” I