DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have a few friends who are incapable of having a face-to-face conversation without using their phones.
Meals with certain friends involve pulling up photos to show me the minute I sit down. If a certain subject is mentioned, they will Google the topic, hand the phone to me and expect me to read about whatever we were discussing on their phone. They take photographs of their food and text it to other people. They delight in receiving texts and calls the entire time.
I would rather take a novel to a restaurant than sit quietly while my companions are otherwise engaged on their phones for over half the time.
GENTLE READER: Then why don’t you? Not with those people, of course. If you want their attention, Miss Manners suggests that you choose another venue where they can communicate with you electronically.