I was too lazy to cook, so I decided to grab some to-go buffalo wings at a nearby restaurant that I hadn’t been to before. When ordering, I noticed a sign above a miniature jail-like structure: “No phones, just talk! Lock ’em away and get 10 percent off your bill.”

We live in a digital era, and we have enabled the unfortunate habit of orbiting our screens rather than gravitating toward people. I am certainly guilty: I spend too much time staring at my computer, largely a result of my courses, National Review job, and general introversion. Still, I would like to believe that I practice what should be basic politeness: When I am in the presence of others, especially eating among their company, I don’t check my phone. (Maybe it’s a result of my conservatism, because this is apparently an archaic standard that few people of my age uphold.)

It is depressing that we have to be financially incentivized by a restaurant to spend intimate time with our family members and fellow dinner guests; the technology that allows us to “connect” leaves us so disconnected. Surely, we should chat with our company as we eat — not for a meager discount, but because that’s obviously polite and respectful conduct. There are a few uniquely pressing circumstances that might warrant keeping our phone ringers turned on; maybe a relative is in the hospital, or there’s a particularly time-sensitive issue at work. But those are exceptions, not the rule. We should say grace before we eat to express appreciation for our good fortune, and we should honor being graced with the presence and time of another person.

Perhaps I’m needlessly judgmental, but if you would rather check emails than chat with me as I sit across from you while we eat subpar wings, then let’s just avoid the occasion altogether. I’d prefer a world where we interact with one another as we share a meal rather than scroll endlessly through social media to argue with strangers we’ve never encountered.