()Technology, the multitude of devices such as tablets and smart phones, and social media have made our lives easier in ways we didn’t realize were possible just a few decades ago.

It has made life so much easier for both families and businesses, in more ways than we can count.

However, this immediate satisfaction comes with serious consequences that we as a society must address.

A new Comcast survey found that most parents believe that disconnection from technology during mealtime helps to strengthen family bonds. Over 2 in 5 (42%), are not able recall when the last time that their family was without a device.

Children are not the only ones at fault. More than half (52%) of parents have been warned by their children to turn off their mobile phones while eating. This issue is captured in a new DeviceFreeDinner campaign with comedian Will Ferrell. Comcast offers a solution to parents, called Xfinity xFi. It allows users to customize, monitor, and manage their Wi-Fi network at home. Users can also instantly pause Wi Fi connectivity by device or user.

The “pause device”xFi’s most-used function is feature, users tap it to access it “pause”Five million times, most commonly between the hours 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., have been used since launch.

Parents will be glad to hear that they’re not the only ones worried about screen time.

Wakefield Research conducted a nationwide survey of parents to find out what Comcast thinks:

* Dinnertime is bonding time -Nearly every (98 percent) parent surveyed agrees that disconnecting from devices during mealtime im- proves family bonding.

* Millennial parents have an especially hard time remembering the last time they sat at the dinner table without a device at the table (49 percent), compared to Gen Xers (37 percent) and Boomers (33 percent).

* Sneaking screen time – Par- ents admit to taking away their children’s devices an average of once per week and more than half (56 percent) have found their chil- dren trying to sneak their devices when they were banned from them.

* Going to extremes to discon- nect – Nearly one-third (31 percent) of parents make their children leave their devices in a basket be- fore bedtime, while 14 percent go so far as to disconnect their modems to stop Wi-Fi usage.

The American Academy of Pe- diatrics recommends parents make personalized plans to monitor their children’s screen time. It warns that too much screen time can cause problems such as lost sleep, familytime, outdoor play and face-to–face interaction.

“Technology should adapt to meet our customers’ needs, not the other way around,”Eric Schaefer is Senior Vice President, Internet and Communications Services for Comcast Cable. “With xFi’s ‘pause device’ feature, parents have the power to decide when it’s time for family members to connect with each other, rather than their devices.”

Go to: for more information on Comcast’s xFi www.xfinity.com/xfi.