The mobile phone has become the extension of the arms of the human body from which it can never be detached. It has quickly gained ground on other personal items considered essential, such as keys, a bag or a purse. And with this precious object, the citizen enters all spaces (work, home or leisure) and makes use of it in any circumstance and in front of anyone. But there is a place that resists him, the bar, especially the one in the neighborhood, the one of a lifetime, with its more or less fixed clientele and in which, even if the client uses the screen, someone's question is enough to leave it.
And it is that the culture of the bar, based on socialization, is still intact. So much so that not even new technologies –and especially social networks– affect the role of bars as spaces for direct personal relationships.
This is indicated, at least, by the study The social dimension of the hotel industry, prepared by the Association of Directors and Managers of Social Services, which points out that the idea so established in the collective unconscious that accuses new technologies of eliminating communication skills "They don't have such an impact on the hospitality industry." "It is more a myth than a reality," says this report.
Even in young people, who can't help but be constantly looking at screens. This is confirmed by the restaurateurs consulted: “Sometimes I do see young people who are sitting down and using their mobile phones. But not when they are at the bar, having a drink, and they spend more time talking than… with social networks”. “When you go to the bar with some friends, well, social networks don't influence you there. Maybe they influence you because of the topic of conversation… But not because of the way they relate to each other”.
And it is that bars and restaurants continue to be spaces for coexistence and enjoyment and contribute to integration and social cohesion. In Spain they replaced the public squares of yesteryear as meeting and meeting places and maintain that social function. Now, in a broader and more diverse way, as is the current society.
The most traditional bars (tapas bar, terrace bar, cafeteria and bar-restaurant) are the catering establishments that most favor close relationships due to neighborhood or work, indicates this study. And they constitute, in the area of proximity, spaces for the construction of citizenship, which contribute to social inclusion by reinforcing feelings of belonging and avoiding the isolation of people who live alone or older. "Functions that are deeply rooted socially, which defines them as characteristic elements of our culture and one of our hallmarks," this work points out.
The report indicates that these establishments favor direct social relations, communication, belonging and meeting. Its most valued function is being the meeting point between neighbors and friends (4.21 out of 5), followed by places to watch sporting events (3.99) and highlights the recent vision of informal spaces to work or study (3.9 ) as a new function of these establishments and that everything seems to indicate that it will have a greater weight in the future and in the new generations.
In addition, they avoid isolation and loneliness. Traditional and neighborhood bars achieve a score of 3.81 out of 5 in perception as places to prevent isolation and loneliness. For social experts, they are ideal spaces for lonely people to have opportunities for relationship and neighborhood coexistence.
