In San Francisco's Financial District, on Sansome between Bush and Pine...
...there is a lunch spot called Mixt Greens selling $15 custom-made, takeout salads, and it always has a line.
Generally, over 80% of the people standing in line are concentrating on their mobile devices...
...and some can't even get through their salad before being lured back.
It's not gender specific behavior, either, as you can see from the countertop of the Hunan Restaurant on Sacramento and Kearny where the three guys sitting next to me spent the entire meal reading from their devices.
I really love this series. I hate seeing people glued to devices instead of being present in the now and participating/interacting with the real world (though I admit I have been guilty of this once or twice myself).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rachel. Since I've started looking for and documenting the phenomenon, it's become really startling to discover how many addicted people there are in public in every kind of setting.
ReplyDeleteI hate the people who walk down the street, eyes glued to their e-toys, expecting others to move aside for them. But in all fairness to the people reading during lunch -- I always have a book or magazine with me during lunch, and there really isn't much difference between reading off a device and reading off the printed page. I don't know if that means I'm not really present while I'm eating or if I'm just using time as efficiently as I can. But I think there is a difference between walking with the devices and sitting down and reading with them.
ReplyDeleteDear Patrick: I'm trying to be as neutral about the phenomenon as possible and just document it, but yeah, sometimes it's annoying and sometimes it's not. I always read while eating alone too, and agree with you that it doesn't really matter if it's a book/magazine/mobile device, However, there was something about the glare of three mobile devices at that countertop surrounding me which I found very annoying, so I moved seats and read the latest gossip from the restaurant-provided Entertainment Weekly in peace.
ReplyDeleteEven more pronounced in Seattle. I am resisting buying a smart phone, because I think people look so dumb pecking away at them all the time.
ReplyDeleteDear Hattie: Resist!
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