Saturday was a special day for most kids in the world. It was International Children's Day, an event celebrated worldwide, but in a different way.
Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honour of children, whose date of observance varies by country. In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Since 1950, it is celebrated on 1 June in many countries, which follow the suggestion from Women's International Democratic Federation. source
This day is taken seriously, it's a public holiday now, even though this year it fell on Saturday, which is not a workday anyway. Most likely some people were angry about losing a good opportunity to get a free day, but that's their problem. The only shop I saw was closed was the bakery at the corner, but this is not the topic I'd like to talk about today.
On Saturday I went to a restaurant, a very nice one that I like to visit whenever I am in that area. It was in the morning, before opening and I had a tea with the owners, while everything was quiet. Being International Children's Day, I asked the owners what they prepared for this special occasion. The answer I got surprised me a lot, but in a good sense.
First of all, they prepared a special meal for children, which I'm sure would charm every kid, but the cherry on the cake was what came with it. They had a special offer, which said, those families that are willing to turn off their phones, place it in the basket on the table and keep it turned off during their stay, can have their kids' meal for free.
When I heard about the offer, I knew exactly why the initiative and was curious to know how the guests would react. This was not the first attempt, they most likely had this in previous years as well as they knew people would react in a different way. They say there were people who got upset, saying it's their private business if they use their phones at the dinner table or not. These are the short sighted people, needless to say, because this is an offer and not something mandatory. So you either use it, or you don't, it's up to you, no one can force you.
The other half was happy to comply, even those who had no kids opted to turn their phone off during their meal, even though there was no reward for them as the offer covered only kids under 12. They said it's a good idea and needs to b promoted. I love people like them
I bet we have all seen individuals, group of people and entire families using their phones during their lunch or dinner. Now imagine what waiters and waitresses have to witness all day every day. They could tell you some interesting stories for sure.
The truth is, this is becoming an huge issue and the more technology advances, the more addicted people starting to become. We have QR codes on the table these days, to check the menu, or details regarding dishes, that is fine. But using your phone at the dinner or lunch table, when there's no emergency, just to entertain yourself, is disrespectful towards the others.
Even worse, when you see parents give their phones to their kids, to shut them up and make them behave as they see this as the only method of keeping them quiet. Growing up like this, they will never learn to put their phone down during meals and respect those at the table.
A few decades ago there were strict rules in place and those deviating from what it's been considered normal, were labeled and made to face the consequences. Times are changing, those strict rules are not in place anymore. However, this is common sense, respect is something you should never forget about and sitting at the dinner table with others should be an occasion to socialize and enjoy each other's company, not to access social media platforms, to see what others have been doing.
If we continue like this, we may as well have dinner with robots. In some countries robots are rented out to keep company of the elderly, help them take their medication and get through the day, because people are busy with other things. Robots are already serving drinks, welcoming guests at hotels and some crazy people in the other end of the world are going on a date with a virtual person, generated by AI.
What do you think? Would you turn your phone off and put it in the basket during dinner?
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