The pub – there’s no better place to unplug and catch up over a pint after a hectic day.
But ‘unplugging’ isn’t as easy as it sounds – especially now that our smartphones are practically a fifth limb – and you’ll often find yourself staring at the tops of your mates’ heads while they play with their phones instead of actually catching up.
Zero craic.
That’s why Guinness did research to dig a little deeper into the effects our smartphones have on our social lives – and the results were extremely interesting.
In fact, they found that a whopping 94% of people enjoy themselves as much or more when they put their phones away on a night out.
The results were so positive that Guinness were inspired to launch the Switch To Pub Mode initiative, together with publicans across Ireland, encouraging you and your mates to give the phone a rest and have the proper chats.
Colin Woods of Dame Tavern pub in Dublin 2 thinks disconnecting from our phones will help us connect better with each other.
He said: “Phones are ruining the atmosphere. I see it every day. I’m really looking forward to seeing people put their phones away. I think it can really bring a bit of magic back into the pub.”
Annmarie Phillips, On-Trade Channel Director, Diageo says ‘Switching toPub Mode is about letting the chat flow for that little bit longer.’
The Switch To Pub Mode initiative will be showing up in pubs from this week, with beanbags provided to literally ‘rest’ your phone, as well as stackers to pop your phone into while you have a good chinwag.
Whatever happened to proper pub chats? Phones happened. We’re loving @GuinnessIreland #phonesdown campaign… bring back the chats! pic.twitter.com/SrKXHQ20np
— Lovin Dublin (@LovinDublin) September 7, 2018
The idea has already taken off online, with many people agreeing that while your phone definitely enhances your social life at times, there are moments where it just makes sense to put it away.
What do you reckon? Will you put the phone down?
This is one trend we really hope will stick.
Why not Switch to Pub Mode, put your #PhonesDown and get to the pub for a proper chat with a mate!
Check out participating pubs here
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