Waiting tables, you notice the families who put their phones away. They’re the ones still talking when the check comes.

From the outside the difference is obvious inside a minute. A table with the phones down generates its own conversation and fills the hour on its own, while a table with phones out runs dry and waits for the food. Nobody at either table notices which one they are sitting at.

Put your phone somewhere else at your next family meal and see how long the talking lasts. You will probably be the only one, which is still enough to change the table.