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marmar

(76,982 posts)
Thu Dec 26, 2013, 11:41 AM Dec 2013

Relatives Gather From Across The Country To Stare Into Screens Together


from The Onion:



OAK CREEK, WI—Turning on the television while unpacking tablets, iPhones, and laptops from their suitcases, members of the McPherson family communed from across the nation this holiday season for several straight days of staring into electronic screens while in the same room together, sources confirmed Friday. “Nothing puts me in the Christmas spirit more than sitting down on the couch with my parents and siblings, turning on the TV, and then proceeding to either look at the screen or gaze down into my glowing tablet display for hours on end,” 28-year-old Andrew McPherson told reporters, adding that he always felt most connected to his relatives when they were both silently gazing into glowing screens of some kind. “It’s just great to get home for a while and spend some quality time not speaking a single word to my relatives, whether that’s by sipping hot cocoa with my sister while we both check our emails, or by gathering the whole clan for a nice holiday meal where everyone is fixedly looking down at the text messages on their phones—’tis the season, you know?” McPherson noted he was sad, however, that Grandpa Sam would not be there to stare into screens with them this year.


http://www.theonion.com/articles/relatives-gather-from-across-the-country-to-stare,34842/


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Relatives Gather From Across The Country To Stare Into Screens Together (Original Post) marmar Dec 2013 OP
LOL - perfect cyberswede Dec 2013 #1
Yay! The whole family's together... Callmecrazy Dec 2013 #2
really not any different from when TVs were the screen dixiegrrrrl Dec 2013 #3
I didn't think so at the time, but I and my siblings were fortunate. ConcernedCanuk Dec 2013 #5
Too true - and why this commercial hits home csziggy Dec 2013 #4
There are lots of these devices amongst the members of my extended family. Jenoch Dec 2013 #6

Callmecrazy

(3,065 posts)
2. Yay! The whole family's together...
Thu Dec 26, 2013, 11:59 AM
Dec 2013

Nobody's talking. Everybody has their nose in a smartphone or tablet, typing like mad and saying, "God, I'm so bored!"
I make it a point not to touch my phone when I'm out with people. I think it's rude.

dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts)
3. really not any different from when TVs were the screen
Thu Dec 26, 2013, 12:24 PM
Dec 2013

I came from a family that ALWAYS had the tv on , blaring into the very small living room, no matter who came to visit.
turn it down for guests? No way.
Damn thing ran from get up time to bedtime, all thru the house.

talking face to face with my Mom, and HER Mom, was impossible
Took me years to realize that is exactly why they had the electronic screen.

Only plus to the hand helds is that they are quieter, for the most part.

 

ConcernedCanuk

(13,509 posts)
5. I didn't think so at the time, but I and my siblings were fortunate.
Fri Dec 27, 2013, 02:15 PM
Dec 2013

.
.
.

A TV never entered our house until I was 11. The only reason we got one was because one of my parent's relatives had died, leaving an older tv, everyone else in the extended family had one already, so we got it.

For the next four years - we were allowed to watch 1 hour a week - (that might be considered ABUSE today!).

It wasn't our choice either, and always the same show - The Ed Sullivan Show.

When I was 15, Bonanza got added to the list - TWO HOURS A WEEK!

I briefly had television access 9 years ago, until the cable company discovered that an unpaid line was still active - oh well . . .

Finances prevented me from doing anything about it, and now, don't miss it much.

I can afford it now, but am too cheap/frugal to pay the companies what they want.

Bought some DVDs, watch them occasionally when I'm in the mood.

That's it - enuf for me, and don't have to bow to a provider's schedule.

CC

 

Jenoch

(7,720 posts)
6. There are lots of these devices amongst the members of my extended family.
Fri Dec 27, 2013, 05:13 PM
Dec 2013

On both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we were playing board games and having fun with one another. It was not until just before we were leaving a relative's house that I checked my e-mail. The youngest person there was 20 however. I'm sure if there were a bunch of teens there, more of those devices would have been in use.

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