Pass the potatoes and put down the phone: Families report text and email at dinner on the rise - CBS News poll

Dinnertime is still when families can connect with each other — but a rising number are also connected online during dinner. And that may be getting in the way. 

Despite the bustle of the modern world, most Americans report that they dinner as a family frequently, and most say doing so brings their families closer together. But many parents report that electronic devices are a presence at the dinner table, and the percentage of parents who say there is emailing, texting, or phone use during dinner has doubled since 2009.

In contrast, having the television on during dinner has declined over the past decade: in 2009 a third said the TV was "always on," but now fewer than one in five say so. But television still remains a familiar presence at the table: half of parents who have children under 18 in their households say their TV is on at least sometimes when they eat dinner as a family — including one in five who say it is always on. So, it may be that American tables have just substituted one distraction for another.