Enjoy a meal around the table tonight
We have entered the age of the TV dinner, people enjoy staring at the box rather than having a conversation with another person.
Is this because we would rather see what's going on in other people's fictional lives rather what's going on around us, new research has indicated that 20 per cent of people watch the soaps whilst eating their meals and 50 per cent say that it's easy entertainment watching the TV.
It's time to make mealtimes a more personable and enjoyable occasion, albeit for just 15 minutes, in order for us to truly appreciate the true value of companionship and conversation.
Twenty-four per cent blame our hectic lives and schedules as the reason why we don't sit down and enjoy our meals.
The study conducted by Italian fresh pasta brand Giovanni Rana reveals that we one in six don't sit down and eat a meal with a companion.
A spokesperson for Giovanni Rana UK says: "Modern life wreaks havoc on our daily eating routines. We multi-task in front of multi-media, actioning crammed "To Do" lists in a short space of time, and forget to be mindful of how well we eat and who we should eat with.”
After asking 3,000 people, the results indicated that only a third of people sit down and eat a meal with another person only once a week. Whilst other times are spent sat in front of the television or a computer screen.
Instead of using your lunch break to check your Facebook or Twitter as a quarter of us do five or six times a week, use the time to talk to colleagues and get some human interaction, rather than staring at a screen all day long. Chances are you have already checked them already that day.
The spokesperson for Giovanni Rana urges us to take inspiration from Italians. Use the time to interact, he says: “Making mealtimes a true occasion for friends and family to get together and tuck into hearty home cooked fare at one central point - the dinner table.”
The research also revealed the amount of time that we spend eating a meal, indicating that 15 per cent of men take only five minutes to eat a meal. Munching food in this little a time means that they are likely to end up with indigestion and heart burn.
“It's time to make mealtimes a more personable and enjoyable occasion, albeit for just 15 minutes, in order for us to truly appreciate the true value of companionship and conversation.” The spokesperson continues.
Even though 80 per cent of us believe that eating a meal in front of the TV has a negative impact on the enjoyment of our food, we still continue to do it. Take time this evening to set the table and enjoy your food with somebody else.
This culture of 'screen grubbing' is turning us into a load of badly interacted box-eyed bores.