How an Apple leaves a bad taste at mealtimes

BILL Carmichael (Yorkshire Post, March 1) has really hit the nail on the head with his little article about being in a full pub in utter silence because most of the clients were fiddling, or whatever, with their mobiles.

It is time someone exposed the damage being done to society by the ability to send text messages on these toys. The art of conversation is becoming like an ancient relic in its rarity... I have been in shops where some teenagers in front of me have been texting while at the same time trying to settle their bills. Not only is it bad manners but it is an abomination to those around them. This technological age which we are now enduring has its “downs” as well as its “ups”.

From: Mike Andrews, Cheviot Way, Upper Hopton, Mirfield.

I READ Bill Carmichael’s recent comments on the use (or should that be abuse?) of smartphones (Yorkshire Post, March 1) with a strong feeling of déjà vu.

Recently, my wife and I were dining in an Italian restaurant. At the next table and directly in my eye line was what appeared to be a family consisting of a mother. a father and two teenage daughters.

The girls were both attractively dressed for the occasion but each was equipped with ear piece and a smartphone clamped to their left hands. During the whole course of the meal lasting approximately an hour, the ear pieces remained in place and the phones never left their hands. This situation even survived the consumption of all the drinks and food – in itself no mean feat although spaghetti does, I suppose, lend itself to a one-handed attack.

Such “conversation” as there was seemed totally centred on the contents of the screens and/or the information fed through the ear pieces. A brave new techno world that can deliver such delights! My big regret is that temperamentally, physically and, most importantly, technically, I am unable to inhabit such a world!