This article was originally published on HelloGiggles.com.
Even though it’s kinda rude and we shouldn’t do it, we’ve all fallen victim to the whole “texting during inappropriate times” thing — whether it’s at work or at school, or at home watching Netflix with our other half.
It’s not very cool, and Pope Francis says rude texting habits could start a war. Come again, a war?
Yup…in a recent speech at a University in Rome, he referred to how people rapidly text on their phones when they’re supposed to be engaging in real-live, person-to-person conversation, and how this breakdown in communication will have negative consequences.
“When we’re at the table, when we are speaking to others on our telephones, it’s the start of war because there is no dialogue,” he said.
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While it’s unlikely that our extreme phone use will cause World War III (and we actually doubt he literally meant that), Pope Francis makes a genuinely good general point about being present and accountable in everyday situations. There’s something to be said for seeing — and hearing — the person or people right in front of us.
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He also suggested that we take a careful look at our behavior as a group, and make sure we’re taking people’s feelings into account when we address them. “We need to lower the tone a bit, speak less and listen more,” he said. And that’s great advice, regardless of whether you fall into the category of excessive phone users (or practicing Catholic for that matter).
It might be hard to reduce phone use at first (since, let’s be real, it’s like second nature at this point), but let’s go for the small steps. How about switching it to silent for a couple hours in the afternoon? And then we can try not bringing it to dinner at all. Think of it as a fun social experiment. We have a feeling you might end up glad you did it.
H/T: Uproxx