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CalChris

That wasn't always the case. Before WIFI and laptops, cafes could be pretty crowded and social.

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Especially in the Austro-Hungarian Empire where even one of the public uprisings is originated from coffee houses.

yes coffeehouses/cafes use to be where all the intellectuals gathered to discuss news and gossip

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_coffeehouses_in_the_17...

I met many of my local friends in a cafe here. We all have small kids, which give you a very easy opportunity to talk to people you don't know and make it difficult to spend time with a phone or laptop.

After four years of living in our town with kids, I almost always bump into people I know when we are out and about. I've never been so connected to the local community where I live before and I really love it. :)

I am getting flashbacks of those days. It was so nice to walk into a Starbucks, and not see the chorus of people staring into their devices.

The smart phone is looking like The Adult Pacifier. I'm getting old, but I remember social anxiety. I might have been that person who pulled out the phone?

Oh glad I have showdead on, this comment was killed! Sadly now I see quite a bit dead comments that shouldn't be. Diversity of ideas shouldn't be left out in crossfire in a fight against spammers and trolls.

When was this magic time when people constantly made friends with strangers in public? I remember that picture comparing the line of people staring at their smart phones to a group of people in the 1920's separately staring at their newspapers in public. Same people, same impulses, different day.

Talking to people older than me, they often seem to say that a timeless feature of living in cities is that you try to pretend that the masses around you aren't there.

I would say it was about five-something years ago. You weren't expected to have a smartphone that coddled you like a baby, and people would be more willing to help you out. Example – I was in New York by myself, and without a smart phone. I had to find my way around with maps + asking people. I ended up talking to quite a few interesting people, and hanging out with a stranger as we both were going the same way to a popular landmark.

Today the iPhone in my pocket completely replaces all of those interactions, since I can (and am supposed to be able to) map my way to absolutely anywhere in NYC.

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