I don't know for sure how broad the issue is in society. I just think that if we don't prioritize the time we have with family, and can't live in the moment with each other, what is even the point? It's like a fucking black mirror episode.

that people have historically formed are going to be harder to form, and thus fewer in number, leading to increased isolation and polarization. If you read this far, thanks, I know it's a bit of a rant/vent. I don't have a solution, I don't know if that's even possible.

as someone with social anxiety, but by and large I feel like I get more out of it than I spend (at least when I still have energy in my tiny social battery). I'm just worried that this is such a pervasive issue that is dramatically affecting social interaction going forward, and the bonds

It's rude to use your phone for entertainment in the middle of a group social activity. It's also a problem if you can't leave your phone alone for long enough to have a conversation. And I'm not going to pretend like 90% of social interaction isn't extremely strenuous for me

in the card games we were playing together without playing some phone game or other app. Like I'm not trying to brag, I use YT shorts as much as the next person but by Picard's shiny head I realize it's not an appropriate public activity without using headphones. No one wants to hear your algorithm.

It wasn't just him having bad phone etiquette, it was every adult who had a phone except for my cousin, the entire reason I went in the first place. So I had a great time with my cousin and his kids, but pretty much everyone else couldn't stand to sit for 5 seconds in between hands

Also he was the only one to try to bring up political issues at all, and that was my biggest stressor over the holiday, though I managed to disengage or redirect conversation every time it came up without having to start an argument. But this wasn't the only issue as far as phone usage went.

IDK if he's on Tiktok or yt shorts or whatever the right wingers are on these days but it was constant AI read conservative garbage, his phone is louder than your average phone, and he made zero effort to limit the volume or find a space where his phone usage would be less intrusive.

I have the exact opposite problem, I seem tall while sitting, but then I stand up and I'm not nearly that tall. Good for wrestling, bad for basketball.

Definitely into Overwatch, Valve, Cowboy Bebop, and Trigun. Though my relationship with Overwatch is a love/hate one.