When I was much younger, my siblings and I used to eat at the same time. Our foods will be on our dining table which must have been served by our aunty or uncle since they were living with us. While eating, my father made sure that we don’t talk so we don’t get chocked or something.
This made me remember the good old days with my siblings but now, we barely eat on the same dining table again and that’s because of distance. My sister and I live in Lagos together while my older brother lives in Ibadan and I’ve not even set my eyes on him this year. We rarely see him since he’s a busy man and a man has to survive. Well, there are some periods when we all meet at home and the house will be complete as one big family. That’s Ileya period. We all usually make sure that we go home since this festival seem bigger than Christmas to us.
Now that we all are grown, if not fully grown, we hardly do without our phones. Even while we’re supposed to gist as family members and siblings, we all press our phones. We now give our phones more time even than our family members. This isn’t just about we kids but including the parents. This is now going to make me answer some questions based on how I feel about them.
Should the use of phones be banned during family time?
Firstly, I wouldn’t want to sit on the fence and at the same time, I don’t think I’d love to give a straight response either yes or no. Some people work full time online and it’s possible to get informations at any time which means they’ve got to be on their phones 24/7 to know what’s up. At the same time, family time isn’t every time. We have some people who only have a proper family time once a year so it wouldn’t make sense to make your phone your priority at that point in time.
Honestly, every other thing can wait but family time doesn’t come or happen all of the time. Work can wait, appointments can be postponed but family time happens once in a while and that’s why we should take it seriously. As adults, we work most days of our lives so we shouldn’t every try to trade family time for work. If that’s the case, I’d say use of phones should be banned during family time and the only time it can be useful is when pictures are needed to be taken.
Will banning the use of phones during family time make the bond stronger?
Let me ask you a question. If you’re bored maybe because your phones are off and you’ve got someone who’s available to gist with you. Will you focus on the gist or not? Well, I’m not asking for those who may be in bad moods at that moment.
So now, if phones are banned during family times, don’t you think you all will focus on each other to make the bond stronger?
I feel the bond will be stronger but if it is possible to place a ban on pressing phones during family times, please let us do so to help us increase love within ourselves…
