9 Reasons You Need to Unplug

You'll Have Real Relationships

Texting at dinner is not just an issue of table manners. Sharing a meal with friends and family is an opportunity to engage in meaningful first-person conversation, and when people are more interested in the game on TV or refreshing status updates, the chance for discourse suffers. In a survey of U.S. working adults sponsored by Good Technology, 38 percent confessed to frequently checking work e-mails while at the dinner table. Sure, there are demanding days, especially in the weak economy when being accessible is crucial, but on the average night these check-ins will hurt your relationships with the people you care about the most.

Even businesses are starting to agree. LA-based restaurant EVA is so behind the concept of unplugging while dining that they started offering a discount to patrons who turn in their phones at the hostess stand before sitting down.