“Pass the Salt” is a short video by Mathew Abeler illustrating the frustration older generations experience when seeing young people glued to their phones.

Of course, that was back in 2013 when the video was first posted. Now it’s a multi-generational problem!

But back in the day, this annoying behavior was the domain of teenagers – for the most part.

The award-winning video begins with a family at the dinner table.

Family dinners are great and all, but to be fair, no one is even talking to each other.

Maybe that’s why when one son’s phone buzzes with a text message he’s quick to pick it up.

Soon, he’s fully ensconced in another world, not looking up from his phone to even bother with his food.

Now it’s time for son #2 to get a call and he too reaches for his phone at the dinner table. (And we’re definitely taking off points for the ring tone and letting it go off at the table – at least silence that thing!)

Dad’s feathers are ruffled, to say the least. Apparently he likes his nice, silent family dinners with no conversation of any kind, verbal or electronic.

The frustration is only enhanced when he asks one son to pass him the salt and the distracted teen slides over the pepper instead.

Now dad has really had it. Heaven forbid you get the wrong spice!

Either dad needs some anger management or this kind of behavior has happened one too many times.

Of course, we’re getting the hint here and it really is incredibly rude to pick up your phone at the dinner table. Sometimes we wonder if people know just how socially clueless it looks.

The way dad makes his point in the video is what makes it a classic – taking it old school to show his sons just how silly their behavior is.

And his sons are wildly confused by it at first.

But we’re not going to spoil it for you. Let’s just say it takes them a minute to get the hint.

The video has aged a bit over the years as parents are now just as likely to be chronic phone users as their kids.

But it’s clearly still hitting close to home since it has over 18 million views!

According to Wired:

“Research by Nielsen, for example, found that Americans aged 35 to 49 used social media 40 minutes more each week than those aged 18 to 34. Gen Xers were also more likely than millennials to pull their phones out at the dinner table. (Baby boomers were even worse!) The middle-­aged spend more time than millennials on every type of device—phone, computer, tablet—and, while they don’t peek at their phones while driving more than young people, they do it more than they should.”

OK, Boomers!

The behavior they once found so annoying is now front and center in the lives and parents and grandparents.

Now we’re all phone zombies! So who’s going to pass the salt?

Be sure to scroll down to see dad’s classic move (and good luck pulling this one off yourself).

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Source: Wired, Matthew Abeler via YouTube