If you expect others to make family time then set an example: don't do work on the weekend during the day. Kids do learn from their parents. If they see you absorbed in your computer stuff all the time then why should they do anything different. "Work" isn't an excuse, it is still doing "your stuff".

btw: Those are not dogs. Those are furry fashion accessories.

I say 'meh'. Time was that everyone would watch the same thing on TV, or everyone would read their own books. Are those any more or less social?

The only difference is that now a whole bunch of functions such as books, magazines, email, TV programs, music, movies, and games have all been subsumed in to one device (be that a laptop, a phone, iPad, or some other gadget) to a greater or lesser degree, so it seems like people just sit on their laptops all the time.

If your family starts forgoing normal speech entirely and using facebook or SMS messages to tell someone in the next room to do the dishes, then I'd be worried.

my kids are younger, but if that's my future I'm going to start acting to change it now! this is why I'm calling myself a retrograded geek- I've dumped the smart phone, we restrict electronic time, and my girls prefer to play or talk together than to separate themselves electronically.

I think the issue is that with a book, at least it's quiet, but you can still engage with others- headphones, noisy tv...all of that isn't great for a home environment. Books and board games bring a better energy I think.

but as I say- my kids are younger- maybe I'm being too much of a purist.

Sheesh got enough hand me downs of devices? Must have some awesome up to date gear. Here I am on my 3 year old pc and my 5 year old mobile and I work in IT and I'm just starting to think of upgrading to a second-hand iphone.

to the_frdige #4, being in IT is a bonus, we know that the price of a product is 10 times its value whereas the one we bought years ago still downloads all the apps needed, still does what all the new ones do and in some cases more, like International phone capable (doesnt need a loaner when travelling)and cost a third of the price then than the ones now. A 3 year old PC, easier to upgrade the software if the hard drive is still 100 %. As for the big PC's with 500GB of hard drive memory, yeah, couple of grand yet I can buy a 1 T for a couple of hundred and works fine plus I can take the external drive with me.! As for home time, never on the PC, Iphone (dont have one) like to hear an actual landline ring or a knock at the door. Conversation is great too.!