Engaging people in a social networking world.

I have some friends who like to scold me whenever I am over at their house "NO HANDHELD DEVICES IN THE HOUSE" .  Basically referring to  my use of my iphone. (I would also like to note these people  have laptops, ipod touchs and nintendo ds but I get singled out)

Now I admit it  would be rude to ignore people in front of you and  text away . Perhaps I may  occasionally twitter  when we are spending time together- however these are people I see every other  week at the very least and go on  trips with every year.  When I pull out the phone it  is for many different reasons.

Take a picture of the kids doing something clever.
Playing  games with his wife and/or kids on the phone (trivial pursuit)
Showing his wife and kids  pictures or youtube videos.
Sometimes sending maybe  2 or 3 twitters over the course of the evening or checking a text message.
Checking the time - I do not wear a watch.
When out -checking  the tip calculator .


Maybe that seems rude  but I think that aside from a couple of twitter posts I am  engaging this family as much as possible.

I find that the times I do pull out the twitter are the times I am basically being ignored. I don't mean that particularly negatively, just that I am not currently involved in anything ( there will usually  be at  least 7-10 people over so naturally people are doing various different things.

I have never chosen  my cellphone over someone talking to me in person. I always put it down.

I think it is just easy for some people to point at a person using their cell phone and say - oh aren't you being anti social. It is the opposite - I am being overly social . If you wish to talk to me then by all means do so. I do not feel  someone else has the burden of always trying to engage me in conversation but  I also  don't feel that I should always  being trying to butt in and make myself included .

Social networking and cells phones have changed the way people  talk to each other . I don't think it is a bad thing  so long as it isn't being abused  and the people in front of you aren't being  ignored. I think there is room for the odd text, twitter, facebook  AND spending time with people in person.