The "Talk Menu" Wants Couples to Drop Their Phones and Engage In Some Light Chit-Chat

If your relationship sometimes feels like a twisted love affair between you, your partner and your partner's smartphone, then you might want to order from this "Talk Menu" on your next date night.

The Talk Menu is a cute little Tumblr design project featuring an actual menu of conversation topics that couples can use instead of robotically scrolling through their phones out of habit and/or nomophobia.

Because, as popular band Walk the Moon would say, talking is hard.

The menu was created by a New York couple named Anuar and Rita after they noticed an epidemic of partner-on-partner phubbing (a slangy amalgamation of "phone" and "snubbing") happening around them.

"[We] were spotting way too many silent couples scrolling on their phones, instead of having a pleasant dinner chat," Anuar told Mic in an email. "It just felt like something [was] wrong and we decided to do something about it. Valentine's Day was arriving and it was perfect: A special day should have a special conversation."

A quick scan of the menu's conversation topics — sorted by categories like "appetizers" and "desserts," of course — indicates that a Talk Menu-generated convo could blossom into something special indeed. The questions range from "What was your first impression of me?" to "Do you like my mom?"

"The questions were designed to work for [all] different types of couples," Anuar said. "[Long-term] relationships, one-dinner-stands, Tinder dates — they are all welcome to try it out. The categories were created to progress with the meal. We start with more basic/warm-up topics, and then they start getting more deep towards the main course."

While it may seem sad and ridiculous that humans would need a literal menu in order to have an actual conversation in 2016, Anuar and Rita are probably onto something here. Cellphone addiction is a thing that happens in the world, with one study indicating that college students spend anywhere from eight to 10 hours a day glued to their devices.

So maybe try to have, like, a verbal conversation on your next dinner date. And if you don't want to ditch your phone entirely, you could always download the mobile image of the Talk Menu here.

h/t Metro