It would look strange and lonely if they shopped books into these photos where the smartphones used to be. Two of those pictures take place during a barbecue and one is at the dinner table. Before smartphones it was considered rude to do that.
Your reply is a bit different, which is that we do certain practices now that would not have been socially acceptable (say) 20 years ago, had it been replaced by a book.
> I've been reading ever since I was a child. My mother read day and night when she was nursing, whenever she could. And all of our family have read at the table. Amy got caught reading at the table at a state banquet...So books have been a part of our life."
While some certainly thought it was rude, others did not.
Third, replace books with TV for an alternative older equivalent for the dinner table. After TV we as a culture rearranged our living rooms so the TV was the center of attention, not each other. We invented special tables so we could eat in front of the TV. Remove the TV in http://epicpew.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/television_wat... and leave a blank wall, then wonder why everyone is staring at the wall. Which is why it was called the boob tube.
I don't know, in those stock photos I can picture them without the books and it doesn't seem as bad. They're all pictures of people in public places minding their own business. The pictures in the OP are families and friends, often in what looks like what's meant to be a social setting, staring at their feet instead of interacting.
Of course you can find examples of people reading at the table, but that doesn't mean it wasn't considered rude. Notice he says Amy was "caught" reading at the table. When you read at the table you're sending the message that the other people at the table are boring and unworthy of your attention. Not that I was never guilty of it, I was a pretty rude kid. :)
Me too, but it does seem to be more accepted generally. I know people who would have never dreamed of reading at the table who routinely use their smartphones now.
dalke|10 years ago
Your reply is a bit different, which is that we do certain practices now that would not have been socially acceptable (say) 20 years ago, had it been replaced by a book.
First, I did read books at the table 20 years ago. Going back a generation more, President Carter also read at the table, as did his daughter. Quoting from http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1998-03-18/features/1998077... :
> I've been reading ever since I was a child. My mother read day and night when she was nursing, whenever she could. And all of our family have read at the table. Amy got caught reading at the table at a state banquet...So books have been a part of our life."
While some certainly thought it was rude, others did not.
Just like smartphones now.
Second, replace books with newspapers for a closer equivalent. Here are couples reading the paper at breakfast - http://static9.depositphotos.com/1729220/1228/i/950/depositp... and http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/nyhetsfoto/american-astron... .
Third, replace books with TV for an alternative older equivalent for the dinner table. After TV we as a culture rearranged our living rooms so the TV was the center of attention, not each other. We invented special tables so we could eat in front of the TV. Remove the TV in http://epicpew.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/television_wat... and leave a blank wall, then wonder why everyone is staring at the wall. Which is why it was called the boob tube.
itsybitsycoder|10 years ago
Of course you can find examples of people reading at the table, but that doesn't mean it wasn't considered rude. Notice he says Amy was "caught" reading at the table. When you read at the table you're sending the message that the other people at the table are boring and unworthy of your attention. Not that I was never guilty of it, I was a pretty rude kid. :)
lsaferite|10 years ago
itsybitsycoder|10 years ago