Conversation turning into a thing of the past A

DEFINITIONS (according to my chum Alan): Little Mix – a very small Irish group. A Wigan kebab – three pies on a stick. N expression that always irked me as a reporter was that a picture is worth a thousand words.

The very cheek of it. However, in this case, it really is true.

The photograph of this bar sign appeared on the Facebook page of Spotted In Yorkshire and hit such a communal nerve it has been shared 876 times and counting.

Let’s be honest, these days people are so hooked on using mobile phones they can be a danger to pedestrians and motorists as the attention of users is diverted to the latest social media posting, Twitter message or the score from Huddersfield Town.

It’s not just the younger generation who are susceptible to the lure of the small screen either.

In any pub or club you’ll find all generations involved: Couples standing side by side with their Samsungs out, a crowd of lads exchanging gags by text rather than telling them, and a clique of pensioners watching YouTube or showing each other holiday snaps rather than having a proper conversation.

It’s amazing how far the technology to kill social intercourse has come in such a short time. I have a chum who, if he gets bored with the way the conversation is going, plays Sugar Smash on his phone. “Am I boring you?” “Yes.” He doesn’t shy away from the truth. All this has happened in the last 44 years. The first mobile in 1973 was built as sturdily as the walkie talkies carried added commercially to mobile by Paras yomping phones until 1996 which is when across the Falk- the world went mad. lands. Since then, phones have become Only used car ever slimmer, neater and easier to salesmen and use with large touch screens. chaps out to Mobile internet use now exceeds impress desktop computer use. They have humped those indisputably brought benefits but around. Thankfully can be a pain in a social setting. they slimmed There will be many who agree down to the Nokia with the sentiment of that bar sign: everyone remembers Let’s talk to each other and pretend with affection. it’s 1995. Now if only the beer prices Internet connection was not matched. I have a chum who, if he gets bored with the way the conversation is going, plays Sugar Smash on his phone