Is Conversation At Dinner A Lost Art?

Remember going out to eat and actually talking to the people sitting with you?  Seems like that isn't happening as much as it used to, at least in my dining experience.

More and more, I've noticed people eating out and they are buried in technology.  Recently, I saw a couple at the booth across from me  never speak once the entire dinner, except to the waitress.  He was busy on his phone and she was typing away on her laptop.  What is the fun in dining out if your head is buried in your laptop?  Can't you do that at home?  Or how about teens out with their parents and the teens are texting non-stop as their parents just sit there waiting for them to stop? For some reason,  I keep bumping into a  certain couple at just about every local restaurant I go to.  The husband sits at the table using his Droid while his wife sits there quietly eating her meal.  Again, they don't speak.  Ever.  I don't get it.  For me, going out to eat isn't only about the food.  It's also about the company and that's what makes it fun.  Good fun and good company can't be beat.  Try it and remember how it used to be!