You Probably Shouldn't Keep Your Phone Face Up on the Table. Here's Why

Jason Chun is a CNET writer covering a range of topics in tech, home, wellness, finance and streaming services. He is passionate about language and technology, and has been an avid writer/reader of science fiction for most of his life. He holds a BA from UC Santa Barbara and an MFA from The New School.

At recent holiday gatherings, I've see the same problem again and again: people keep getting phone snubbed. 

While smartphones are usually great for keeping us connected, they sometimes cut us off from the people who are right in front of us. Case in point: I'm having dinner with friends, only for the conversation to pause or stop entirely as everyone picks up their phones to check their notifications. This kind of subtle disconnect, often called ...