Hat tip: Eli

Coffeeshop Turns off Wi-Fi on Weekends.

[Owner Jen] Strongin said that the five-year-old cafe added free Wi-Fi when it seemed their customers wanted it a couple of years ago. It initially brought in more people, she said, but over the past year ?we noticed a significant change in the environment of the cafe.? Before Wi-Fi, ?People talked to each other, strangers met each other,? she said. Solitary activities might involve reading and writing, but it was part of the milieu. ?Those people co-existed with people having conversations,? said Strongin.

But ?over the past year it seems that nobody talks to each other any more,? she said. On the weekends, 80 to 90 percent of tables and chairs are taken up by people using computers. Many laptop users occupy two or more seats by themselves, as well. Victrola isn?t on the way to anywhere; it?s in the middle of a vibrant stretch of shops and restaurants on Capitol Hill?s 15th Ave. It?s exactly the kind of place that you want to sit down in, not just breeze through.

Posted on 1 June 2005