The target population in this study were my friends. I collected data from them via the use of close-ended survey questionnaires with 12 questions (see appendices). The eventual target was to use ten of my friends for the research. In picking the participants of the research, I first used stratified sampling in trying to ensure that the data was representative and diverse. Stratified sampling is the method used to pick a sample population by first dividing it into groups called strata, based on their characteristics other than geographical (Jing, Tian, & Huang, 2015) . I therefore first divided the strata into groups of males and females, 20 each. From each strata of 20, I again divided them into those who live with their parents and those who do not. I then picked the former strata (those who live with their parents). Finally, I engaged them on their willingness to participate in the study and picked 10 of my friends.
From a total of 40 friends who were willing to participate in the research, I eventually settled on 10 of my friends who not only lived off-campus but also lived with their parents. Their gender characteristics were five males and five females. Crucially, these friends whom I picked were all above the age of 25 years. The reason for the above age bracket is I consider them old enough to be bold and implement the research in which I asked them to engage.
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Analysis
The results of the survey question on their gender (male or female) did not come as a surprise. They were five males and five female respondents, exactly as I had planned. All 10 of them had smartphones. Almost all the members of their families also had a smartphone. One of them responded negatively to this. On further inquiry, she revealed that the lack of a smartphone was because it was lost and she was in the process of replacing it.
From the findings, 9 out of 10 answered that they traditionally use the smartphone during dinner time. The degree of use of the smartphone, however, varied. For two respondents, the use of the smartphone was sparing. Four pointed out that there was moderate use of the smartphone whereas, for 3, the use of the smartphone was frequent. Three respondents thought that the smartphone had affected their relationship as a family whereas 7 of them felt that it had not. They were indifferent about it. For 6 of the respondents, their family was strongly against the idea of outing away their smartphones during dinner time. For 2 of them, the family was welcoming to the idea of putting away the smartphone during dinner time. For one respondent, it was easy because it was already a common practice in the family.
Despite the high initial resistance to putting away the smartphone during dinner time, 8 of the respondents admitted that it improved their relationship and how they interact as a family, whereas 2 answered this research question negatively. It, therefore, came as no surprise that 8 of the respondents think that the trend of putting away the smartphone during dinner time should be encouraged. During the research period, only two admitted that there were urgent matters they missed out on due to putting the smartphone away during dinner time.
There are some important trends and patterns that are revealed by the research findings discussed above. One interesting trend is when only 3 of the respondents think that the smartphone has affected the way they interact as a family. From the research results, it is clear to see that there is moderate and frequent use of the smartphone for majority of the respondents in the research. A plausible reason for this is that when they were growing up as children, their parents used their phones during dinner time, and as children they only looked on and ate in silence. When they became old enough, their parents bought smartphones for them. For these respondents, there is, therefore, a high possibility that this is the only kind of interaction during dinner time at their home.
Consequently, it is rational to assume that they responded the way they did since they are not aware of what they are missing out on concerning family relationships. They think that their current relationship with family members and the way they interact during dinner time is the normal modus operandi of family interactions. The high level of resistance is, therefore, another phenomenon in the survey results that comes as no surprise. From the participants’ responses, majority of their family members were resistant to the new change of putting away the smartphones during dinner time. More times than not, human beings try to resist change and are more accustomed to maintaining the status quo. The resistance is also the case in the families picked for the survey as a majority of them preferred to maintain the use of the smartphone during dinner time without looking at the eventual benefits.
The final observation is with the urgency of matters to be attended to via smartphones during dinner time. Only a small percentage of the respondents reported missing urgent and emergency matters during dinner time. It means that the importance of use of the smartphone during dinner time is overrated. People do unimportant tasks and entertain themselves using the smartphone, but classify them as urgent and important matters.
Conclusion
The research results show that the use of smartphones during dinner time is indeed prevalent. The families have been doing this for a long time, such that it has become their norm and culture. It is therefore not a surprise that there is a high level of resistance to the idea of putting away the smartphones during dinner time. Before the research, the families were not aware of what they are missing out on in terms of their interaction, communication, and closeness. On the insistence of the respondents, most of the family members have a change in perception and opinion after putting their smartphones away during dinner time. They witness a newfound closeness in their communication and interaction to the point where they would recommend the trend to continue. Furthermore, there were minimal emergency and urgent matters they missed out on during dinner time.
Policies
Convincing the Head of the Family
For the idea of putting smartphones away during dinner time to be entrenched in the family, there is a need to ensure that the head of the family is on board with the idea.
The family could be patriarchal, matriarchal, or a mix of the two. Whichever it is, it is important to get the key decision-makers in the family to back the idea of putting away the smartphone during dinner time.
Convincing them involves sharing with them the qualitative and quantitative data and information about the benefits which put away the smartphone during dinner time have in communication and closeness by family members.
Getting the head(s) of the family on board is important because if any policy is to succeed and lead to the achievement of its objectives, the backing, and support of the head of the family is key.
Switching Off the Phone during Dinner Time
From the research analysis, a majority of the communication and interactions in the use of the smartphone were not urgent.
Not much would be missed out on by the family members witching off their smartphones during dinner time.
On the contrary, it would be beneficial since they will all get to interact with each other, know what is going on in their lives, give each other advice, and other forms of communication and interactions that are essential among family members.
The first recommendation of ensuring that the head of the family supports the general philosophy of putting away their smartphone during dinner time would be essential in at this point. The head of the family would ensure that all the family members adhere to the requirement of switching their smartphones during dinner time.
Seeking Permission in Cases of Expected Emergency or Urgency
As seen from the research results, there are a few cases where there are matters of urgency that need attending to during dinner time.
It would, however, be narrow-minded and inconsiderate to create a policy that explicitly prohibits the use of the smartphone during dinner time.
The creation of a policy whereby there will be a case by case analysis on the urgent matters and emergencies that will necessitate the use of smartphones during dinner times will happen.
If a member of the family feels the need to use the smartphones during dinner time due to an emergency, they should communicate the head of the family in advance.
Only when they are allowed can they have their smartphones with them during dinner time.
Have More Interactions outside the Dinner Table
The main reason that necessitated the research topic on putting away the smartphone during dinner time is due to the limited interactions that family members have outside the dinner table.
Communication with friends over social media is more common than to family members.
A policy should, therefore, be in place whereby the family members would be required to increase their interaction and communication outside of the dinner table.
By using social media to communicate with each other during the day or in times where family members are away from each other for an extended period, they have plenty of conversations-content to talk about at the dinner table.
Reference
Jing, L., Tian, K., & Huang, J. Z. (2015). Stratified feature sampling method for ensemble clustering of high dimensional data. Pattern Recognition , 48 (11), 3688-3702.
