Could “No Phones” Become the New “Non-Smoking” Section at Restaurants? 📱🍽️

If you're old enough to remember walking into a restaurant and being asked “Smoking or non-smoking?”, congratulations.

Your knees probably hurt when it rains. But restaurants may eventually have a modern version of that question:

“Phones or no phones?”

As smartphones become increasingly disruptive at restaurants, some businesses are experimenting with ways to encourage customers to actually talk to the humans sitting across from them. Wild concept.

RELATED: New Study Suggests Smartphones May Be Playing a Role in Falling Birth Rates

Restaurants Are Already Trying It

Some restaurants and bars have experimented with lockable phone pouches, similar to those used at concerts and comedy shows.

Others are taking a gentler approach and offering customers rewards for voluntarily putting their phones away.

Some Chick-fil-A locations, for example, have offered a “Cellphone Coop Challenge,” where families put their phones in a box during the meal and receive a free treat if they make it through dinner without grabbing them.

Imagine explaining this to someone in 1995:

“In the future, restaurants will bribe families with ice cream to speak to each other.”

Would a “Phone-Free Section” Work?

A complete phone ban might be a little extreme.

Parents may need to be reachable. Someone could be waiting for an important call. And taking a quick picture of your meal isn't exactly ruining everyone else's evening.

The bigger problem is people watching videos without headphones, taking FaceTime calls at full volume or spending the entire meal scrolling while their date stares into the middle distance questioning their life choices.

That's why some restaurants are considering less drastic ideas, including voluntary phone-free nights, designated screen-free sections, or small perks for customers willing to disconnect.

So here's the question:

If a restaurant host asked you...

📱 “Phones?”

or

🚫📱 “No phones?”

Which section are you choosing?

And if restaurants really want us to put our phones away, forget the free dessert.

Give me 10% off the bill and I'll pretend it's 1997 for the entire evening.