“Put your phones away!” “No phones at the dinner table!” You constantly hear parents tell their kids to put their phones away and to focus on enjoying the moment, but is it really that easy to do? Even for us adults the idea of being away from the digital world for just a few hours is sometimes a tough task.
Caravan has been a Moroccan comfort food favorite amongst Beijingers for years. Owner Badr Benjelloun introduced a new concept to his restaurant: Anti-Social Mondays, where if you don’t check your phone for the entire duration of the meal, you get 50-percent off your bill.
You’ve been doing the Anti-Social Mondays at Caravan for a while now. What made you want to start it?
Actually, we started the “Anti-Social Mondays” which were previously called “Social Sundays” back at CuJu over three years ago, in the summer of 2016.
The story is simple: I was busy and stressing out from planning my three weddings in three continents over one month and one day, as I was on my laptop looking at logistics and bookings, I noticed a couple sitting outside on the terrace. They had ordered a set meal for two and a beautiful bottle of wine. Every time I looked at them, I noticed that they were just looking at their phones and not touching the food or drinks. This went on for about 30 minutes. I watched as their food got cold and their white wine got warm. I felt that as the restaurant owner, it was my duty to go over and maybe try to defuse whatever situation was happening: tell them a joke or whatever.
When I walked over to say hi they both looked at me like I had just interrupted the best conversation they ever had and were overall pretty rude to me.
This made me rethink what the role of a social space is and that’s how Social Sundays (as we called it back then) started.
We had a few issues with people trying to take advantage of it over the year and took it away until I sorted out a better implementation and brought it back as “Anti-Social Monday”.
What has the feedback been like from your guests?
People are hesitant at first and worried that there’s a catch. There isn’t! Once they realize that, it’s a very positive experience. We have regulars that come by every Monday just for that and a lot of couples also struggle with one or both of the partners unable to just commit to a meal without interruption so they end up here with a forced “phone time-out”. But, at the other end of the spectrum, we’ve also caught people checking their WeChat under the table or even in the bathroom on a second phone. It’s so interesting seeing how dependent some people are on technology.
Why do you think that it’s important for families to spend time together without phones?
I think it’s important for people to remember the human contact, families, and friends. The art of conversation is being lost with too much screen time and I am as guilty as everyone else. For families with or without children, I do believe there should be a time where no screens are allowed, like in the old days. Take a walk in the park, cook, play social games, anything. Just build a bond that’s outside of the digital world.
What’s something that you’ve personally discovered from these Anti-Social Mondays?
People have a love/hate relationship with their devices in general, even when they’re not aware of it. The slightly older generation deals with it better because they grew up without smartphones but the younger ones look like they’re almost having withdrawal symptoms the first time they’re without their devices.
What are your thoughts on children’s use of technology?
There’s nothing wrong with that, especially in the modern day and age. Everything revolves around technology, but maybe every now and then, instead of limiting screen time, we need to look at the other side and increasing non-screen time. Get the children involved in activities that do not involve screens: sports, cooking, games, whatever.
Most parents keep their toddlers entertained at restaurants by giving them an iPad to play with. What’s your alternative recommendation for them?
That’s a hard one! I actually think that’s not a bad use for the iPad if it involves educational apps as opposed to just mindless cartoons. The good old approach of paper and color pens is still good and I have a few friends with children that still do just that. Ultimately, I don’t have children yet, so it’s a little harder for me to talk about it from a real-life perspective. I just know how I would approach it.
Caravan 驼队餐吧
Moroccan Food, Live Music, Craft Beer
44 Guanghua Lu, Across from Embassy of Brazil.
光华路44号，巴西大使馆对面
eat@caravanbeijing.com
Photos: unsplash, Badr Benjelloun, giphy
