The Phone Stack

lifecollage and I were out at brunch today, and we decided to play a version of The Phone Stack Game:

Rules: lifecollage and mangosteen's house rules for the Phone Stack Game:
0. Everyone should stack their phones/pagers/etc. in the center of the table, face down.
1. First one to pick their phone up out of compulsion to "check something" pays the bill.*
2. You have to declare if you're expecting a call/text at the beginning of the game. This is for posterity, so please, be honest.
3. Emergencies and/or previously expected calls/texts don't count.
4. You are allowed to have a memo pad and pen to write down the things you'd otherwise check on your phone.
5. If you're playing the advanced version, leave the ringer audible so there's the temptation.

I have to say, it was an interesting game. It's pretty clear that having the Internet in my pants contributes to an urge to actually use it with the convenience it offers. I came up with about four things over ~45 minutes that I wanted to check/verify/read, all of which could be done with the smartphone.

Observation: It's pretty amazing how many times I thought about communicating with someone who was not in front of me during that meal. It's similar to the way I think of fasting on Yom Kippur. Every year, I get a visceral reminder of how many times my mind wanders over towards thinking about food (i.e. a lot), and I start wondering its place in my life versus other places it could be.

Assignment: Try the game. Tell me how it goes.

Oh yeah, and it was a tie. The memo pad really did help.

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* Or pays the whole group's tip, or $2 of each person's bill, or whatever you feel like so people have some skin in the game.