SOCIAL MEDIA
Being plugged in but checked out doesn’t contribute to any party or social gathering. Here is when it does – and doesn’t. Facebook If it feels irresistible to put event photos on Facebook, keep in mind that what’s amusing and of interest to you may not be to the host or to those who were left out of the party. If you care that any uninvited friend may be hit with a serious case of Fomo ( fear of missing out), then don’t put them up. If any photos involve compromising situations, ask permission first. People might love you for it but going viral for some may be as much fun as a dose of Ebola. Instagram Feel the need to ’gram a selfie of you and an old friend you ran into at the gala or a mouthwatering shot of your main course to share with friends and followers?
Before you Instagram with abandon, ask yourself two things: am I inconveniencing anyone by holding my phone at arm’s length to take a selfie? Best not to knock the pricey lobster out of the waiter’s hands as he goes to serve it. And am I just doing this to make others jealous?
If the answer is yes to either of these questions, best to keep your photos to yourself. As for taking pictures of every dish, if they can be done quickly without disrupting the service and without annoying other guests, then go for it. Live tweeting If you’re at a charity cocktail party, a restaurant opening or any other event where publicity and attention are essential for success, and you have the host’s active permission, then go crazy. If not, it’s an unforgivable invasion of privacy, especially at an intimate dinner party. Table manners in the age of technology are much more than knowing which spoon belongs where and what knife to use. There are do’s and don’ts when it comes to your smartphone at the table and at parties – and you really should get to know what they are! your phone on the table, make sure the screen faces downward, so that when it lights up with notifications guests around you aren’t distracted.
And silencing your phone is not reserved for movie theatres. No one wants to hear your bells and whistles. Pictures and videos If you wouldn’t bring a photo album of your nephew to the table, then maybe it’s not the time to scroll through 20 photos of him on your phone for the other guests.
If another guest hands you his or her phone to look at a series of pictures, scroll only forwards and never backwards, to avoid invading his or her privacy.
Stell your guests as they enter. Or have a sign asking them please to turn off their phones until they leave. Or seat a guest near an exit if he or she knows a long call will be coming through. Social media If you want your event all over Instagram’s Explore or everyone’s Facebook newsfeed, say nothing to your guests. If you don’t, say so. Announce to them when they’re invited that, for reasons of national security, you don’t want any social media photos to appear. Everyone will laugh and some might even go along with it.
‘Silencing your phone is not reserved for movie theatres. No one wants to hear your bells and whistles’