Eating away from home is becoming increasingly common and visits to fast-food restaurants are growing even more rapidly. The introduction of McDonald's and indigenous fast-food restaurants reflects changes in the India diet, eating behaviors, and social patterns. But these changes are not the expression of urban anomie and social fragmentation often attributed to postmodern society and symbolically represented by the ubiquity of these restaurants.
Dear Sribas
Availability of fast food restaurants of indigenous and imported variety has certainly contributed to the Indian families going out with family and spending quality time together has increased a lot in recent years particularly with the start of the IT boom. But this phenomenon is only related to the metros and large towns across India. I think in a way it is good because it relieves the house wife to have a better time without struggling with the cooking, serving and cleanup particularly during the weekend.
'Family connection' is expressed in doing things together, and choosing to do things together. Eating together at home or at a fast food joint is about the same to express the togetherness or the 'we-ness'.
But I don't particularly like fast food (McDonald, Kentucky Fried Chicken etc) because of the high fat, salt. It's far healthier to cook, eat a diet of fruits and veg at home.
Family values are indeed affected - of sharing and eating the same meal and having a family quality time. While eating fast food away from home does not share the common experience of food or taste - menu differs from one another. So there is less of "us" talking and more of "theirs" talking seeing the menu on others' plate. This is very common when we eat out.
Moreover fast food compromises health for taste and I agree with Miranda's view here. Eating at home is healthier.
Also totally agree with Prof. Nageswara "relieves the house wife to have a better time without struggling with the cooking, serving and cleanup particularly during the weekend."
Globalization, rapid and dynamic lifestyle leads to total alienation in the family. This is a good article on the subject!
http://home.messiah.edu/~sd1275/pstn2.html
Prof Kamal, Ljubomir and friends,
Parents have to be wise and strong willed to bring up children to follow their moral and religious values that are more healthy than the materialistic values that lead to alienation in the family. I think parents still have a good chance to do this, I'm the proof :)
Recently, a family member of mine was on a trip southward, she stopped at a local fast food restaurant to get a cup of coffee to help stave of the tiredness from driving.
She sat down at a booth to drink her coffee and then noticed a family of 4 (Mom, Dad, Son, Daughter) sitting a few booths away. All 4 members of the family were looking down, staring into an iPad or a smartphone during the whole 15 minutes she was there for her coffee. No conversation at all between the family members. Is it fast food we worry about, or digital devices these days? Interesting question.
@Jack, related to this Q and your post, are my threads below. Please view, you may agree or not as you wish.
https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_much_time_are_we_spending_on_social_networking_sites_including_FB_and_RG_Does_it_have_negative_effect_on_deeper_relationships_in_our_families
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Do_you_notice_that_your_students_spend_a_lot_of_time_on_social_networks_What_are_the_effects_that_you_noted_on_them
As a very young student, we took the chance to visit a fast food restaurant together with the collegues in the same institute. It was a communication act. So of course, if a family takes the fast food together, as Miranda stated, the communication process and the social aspect exist.
If you look around today, you see a lot of "singles" taking their fast food, often when walking to somewhere, a handy at one ear, a hamburger in the mouth with nearly closed eyes and ears for the surrounding. It´s a horror picture.
No, take the time to have common meals with communication with your families and friends.
And Miranda is right, where is the fantastic and traditional taste of your fast nourishment?
@Sribas Goswami
Good question with Interesting answers. In my opinion, the essence of this question is social values. @Dr. Ahed has seen it through social lens which is correct, I think so. Majority has said "YES" because of Asian culture background. I too go for YES because of the mentioned reason but it is really not bad idea to eat fast food once a month if one can afford just to have a different taste and give relief to one's wife as envisions respected @Dr. Rao . I am waiting to read from respondents of other cultures, also.
A human being is a collective creature. "In their own being (objective reality) a human being needs emotions and artistic or purely common perception of reality"(Wittgenstein). To L.A.Feuerbach, "God was my first thought, reason- the second one, a human being was my third and last thought"To Wittgenstein, "For a subject it's essential, that it must be a probable component of some event...World is that, that occurs. World is facts in the logical area". Communication is an important event in human relations.As for me, I don't drink champaign with the human being, who I don't trust. A festive table is like a pipe of peace for like-minded and real friends. A family dinner is a sacred thing, where we can share not only food, but also ideas and problems. My parents had a family ritual to eat together. It was exciting to feel him/herself a part of unity.Russian women don't like restaurants, our family holidays or dinners are mutual, it's the greatest moment of relationship. It's our mutual dishes for our family event.
You are right my friends, here is a good quote about! There are nice quotes on the page given!
http://quoteko.com/quotes-the-importance-and-benefits-eating-together-family.html
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