Watch Food, Chew Content! 🍽️

Last night, when my mom announced that dinner was ready.

I quickly got up.

Washed my hands.

Opened YouTube.

And started searching for a good video to watch.

My content preferences vary from time to time.

I sometimes choose to watch an episode from a current web series I’m following, and at other times, I enjoy watching old episodes of Taarak Mehta.

It depends on my mood, but I always need something to watch.

Back to the story, despite dinner being served, I continued my search because I can’t watch anything random while eating.

Finally, I settled on watching Tanmay Bhat’s reaction video.

And then I started eating.

Is this relatable?

Well, if the answer is yes, then keep reading.

Honestly, I never found anything wrong with this habit.

Even in childhood, I used to do the same thing, but back then, it was TV.

The only difference was that I wouldn't spend so much time deciding what to watch because it wasn’t on-demand entertainment.

But I started thinking about this after I watched this video: LINK

The video isn't about using screens during meals, but it talks about being in the moment.

Well, that's what 'Mindful Scroll' is all about.

Okay, but what’s the problem?

Digital devices can make us physically present but mentally absent.

In my opinion, this is a terrible habit for several reasons.

And it becomes even worse when we're eating.

I strongly believe in showing respect for food and being thankful for having it on my table. However, in reality, I find myself paying more attention to my screen than enjoying my meal.

Right, but what to do?

It's kind of funny.

When I looked up how to solve this problem on the internet, this is what I found: (As adults, we think this problem is only for kids.)

I even asked ChatGPT for solutions, but most of them sounded good in theory, not in real life:

• Putting your phone in another room.

• Listening to nice music.

• Counting how many times you chew.

My Attempt

I tried eating without looking at screens, but it was boring.

But I did find one solution that seems practical and relatable: having a conversation while eating.

There was a time when we(family) used to talk during meals at my house, back in the pre-digital era.

But things have changed now.

Still, I'm going to give this a try from now on.

Not every day, though, as that will be too much for me and my family.

Maybe this will help me be present in the moment and enjoy the meal.

I've decided to have one night a week as 'Screen-Free Dinner Night.’

These small changes shouldn't be too hard to get used to, and something is better than nothing.

Let's see how it turns out!

Anyway, thank you so much for reading 🧘 Mindful Scroll.

Talk to you next Sunday at 10 AM.

Cheers!
Hardik