My daughters and I ate at a local diner tonight. Our waitress has been doing this work for 45 years, since she was 15. She said one of the striking changes in her business is how people no longer engage in conversations while eating. She estimated that 8 out of 10 groups of people barely talk. Instead, they are mostly looking at their phones while they eat at the restaurant. She is dismayed about this and said that she sees this in her own family; it is difficult to have conversation with her own children because they are glued to their phones.

Apparently, Phubbing is the new normal.