VCC Essay: Exploring the Reasons Behind Restaurant Cell Phone Bans

This essay examines the growing trend of restaurants banning cell phones during meals to promote real-life social connections. It evaluates the advantages, such as free marketing through customer-generated content on social media, and disadvantages, including potential negative publicity from mediocre food pictures and hindering the freedom of customers fond of their gadgets. The essay also highlights the cons of cell phone usage, such as decreased socialization and negative impacts on the dining experience for others. It concludes that banning cell phones is a necessary move to counter over-dependency on technology, suggesting restaurants offer voluntary shutdowns to maintain ambiance without alienating customers. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments.

Running head: WHY RESTAURANTS BAN CELL PHONES 1
Restaurants are increasingly banning cellphones
during the meals
Student Name, Student Number, Student Set
School Name

WHY RESTAURANTS BAN CELL PHONES 2
Restaurants are increasingly banning cellphones during the meals
Introduction
With the wide use of technology and social media, people are often seen engaged using
mobile phones, clicking food pictures and posting the same on social media sites rather actually
socializing in the physical presence of others while dining out (Sedacca, 2017). As a result, an
increasing number of restaurants these days are banning cell phones during the meals, as a means
of promotion of real-life social connections. The following essay is aimed to evaluate the pros
and cons of the use of cell phones at restaurants.
Pros of cell phones use at the restaurants
It is a widely known fact that is people are more active on varied social media handles
nowadays, more than ever. This gives an opportunity for the restaurants of free marketing when
people click pictures of interiors and food of the restaurant and post the same on their profiles.
For instance, one of the most popular global brands Starbucks capitalized on the Instagram trend
by posting strikingly impressive pictures of Unicorn and Zombie-themed Frappuccinos to
publicize the same (Sedacca, 2017). For instance, as accorded by Sedacca (2017), “one of the
Cuban restaurant namely Media Noche provides Instagram-ready content in the form of its
floral-tiled floors.” In addition, the pictures taken by the crowd works as a great source of
displaying the interior and infrastructure of the restaurants. Further, on the same lines, it can be
stated that restaurants can lose in the line of the catering business if they do not compete on
social media. Further, the banning of cell phone use on the premises can be hindering the
freedom of the crowds and business can lose the business crowds who are specifically fond of
their gadgets.

WHY RESTAURANTS BAN CELL PHONES 3
Cons of cell phone usage in restaurants
Restaurants are popularly regarded as a means of socialization and communication.
However, lately, the restaurant scenes are seemingly different. In the words of Stacy Oriente,
“Everybody is illuminated in this ghastly blue light, taking pictures of food, but not really having
conversations (Sedacca, 2017).” Thus, people are seen spending more time checking their news
feeds behind the screens than conversing at the people around them, thereby leading the move to
be stated positively. Another disadvantage for the restaurants of increasing cell phone use is that
the brand may be exposed to negative marketing as perceived from the mediocre pictures of the
food posted by the customers. A picture posted by on a social media can lead to negative
publicity in terms of the quality and standard of the food. While the restaurants choose to get a
professional photo shoot to advertise their delicacies and highlight the same, the client’s regular
phones may lead to unnecessary questions and reviews on appearance and quality of food.
Further to add, the cell phone usage not only hinders one's own experience but also the people
around. To add further, in the words of Elaine Aquino, “they’re detoxing their minds from their
technology (Sedacca, 2017).” This means that restaurants are a means of technology
detoxification for the people, as the same allows the people to sit comfortably and talk to each
other. In the words of Peter Naccarato, “that somehow impacts the dining experience of everyone
(Sedacca, 2017).” Restaurants banning cell phones further back their idea that such a ban would
lead to an overall enhancement in the food and customer experience.

WHY RESTAURANTS BAN CELL PHONES 4
Conclusion
As per the discussion carried on the previous parts, it can be stated that banning cell
phones at restaurants is a necessary and healthy move, in the wake of over dependency of
humans on the cell phone and social media. It would be right to state that people should
introspect and value the significance of dining with closed ones and actual social connections
rather posting the pictures just for the sake of likes. Further, in the words of Marco Canora, "the
thing that drew you to the business is the love of conviviality (Sedacca, 2017).” Thus, the
restaurant thus can choose to offer the willingly shutting down of cell phones to the customers,
that would neither hurt the customer’s sentiments and also maintain the ambiance of the place.

WHY RESTAURANTS BAN CELL PHONES 5
References
Sedacca, M. (2017). Why Restaurants Ban Cell Phones. Retrieved from:
https://www.eater.com/2017/11/30/16672378/cell-phone-ban-restaurant