Virginia Ironsides Dilemmas: Is using a mobile phone during dinner bad manners?
Dear Virginia, My daughter has brought her boyfriend home to meet us and we took them both out to dinner. But there was an extra guest – his mobile phone. During dinner he was perpetually texting and talking to people on the phone – he said it was for his work. My husband was furious but didn’t say anything, and I don’t know if I should say anything to my daughter. I found it quite aggressive. Are we just being old-fashioned or was this incredibly bad manners? Yours sincerely, Deirdre Despite the general consensus that to talk on your mobile or text during a meal is extremely bad manners – as you say, the presence of an active mobile is like an extra unwanted guest – I, oddly, have some sympathy with this man.
