At a restaurant we were recently met by a dispiriting sight: almost without exception, the guests were looking at electronic screens of various kinds, not at one another.
One should have known this might happen, yet I was brought up short. The possibility of attention from someone or something not present prevailed over an interaction, perhaps satisfying, perhaps not - who knows? - with the person opposite.
It is my own vanity that makes me object to all this. I want to be tolerated in spite of my own dullness; I don't want anyone to prefer something over me.
Will that even remain possible in time?
One should have known this might happen, yet I was brought up short. The possibility of attention from someone or something not present prevailed over an interaction, perhaps satisfying, perhaps not - who knows? - with the person opposite.
It is my own vanity that makes me object to all this. I want to be tolerated in spite of my own dullness; I don't want anyone to prefer something over me.
Will that even remain possible in time?
