Nope, it sure ain't just yopur Wife's relatives- its an epidemic; the "me" generation and Gen-X at their best.

Yup, its obnoxious and rude behavior and evidence of Narcissistic personality disorder and shouldn't be tolerated.

Why didn't you tell 'em they were acting like dickheads?

Nobody calls people on this, its only gonna get worse.

Unless there's some relative in the hospital, we have a "check your cell phones at the door" policy that works like a charm. If someone is so narcissistic they can't comply, they need not participate- there's the door.