Life
IKEA Placemat Discourages Phone Use ... Kind Of
IKEA is about to release a product that is revolutionary. Okay, maybe revolutionary is a bit far. IKEA is about to release a practical product. Okay, a semi-practical product. A product that can't do anything you couldn't do yourself already. If I'm being honest, it's a weak attempt at appealing to anti-tech culture — IKEA's forthcoming SITTNING collection comes with a placemat designed to "stop" you from looking at your phone during meals. The placemat is a sheer, linen looking fabric (there's no information as to exactly what it's made of), with a little pocket to the side of where your plate goes big enough to slide an iPhone into. Obviously, being sheer, you can still see when your phone goes out. And easily slide it back out again to take a look.
The SITTNING collection comes out in September, and it's "about setting the table on what seems to be an ordinary Tuesday, and being reminded again and again that it’s within the ordinary that much of the extraordinary happens." I have to admit, useless iPhone placemat aside, I've been browsing it with hungry eyes, along with the rest of IKEA's new releases. But this is about that placemat, and about how IKEA doesn't seem to be as trying as hard as they could to separate you from your phone at dinner. If anything, this placemat seems like it facilitates further iPhone use at the dinner table.
Meanwhile, here are my suggestions for not using your phone during a social dinner:
