McDonald's is again trying to get customers to put away their smartphones

When we're getting subtle life advice from a fast food chain, it's time to admit we have a problem.

Smartphones have become such a big part of our lives, that some of us find it hard to put them down - the temptation to text or check Instagram can prove too great.

But McDonald's is here to help.

In a bid to get customers to put their phone away and start talking to each other, a Maccas in Singapore has introduced an in-store smartphone locker. Customers can lock their phone away in the glass cabinet and enjoy their Happy Meal with some eye contact and conversation.

At least that's the idea.

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Will you ever see 1 phone in da box? #mcdonalds #familytime #nophonesallowed #iphonephotography #nofilter

A post shared by jerry sim (@shijia82) on Oct 15, 2017 at 10:50am PDT

The installation is pitched as a way to let customers have some genuine family time while in the restaurant.

It certainly seems like a nice idea but the locker - which has room to house 100 phones - may have been a tad optimistic.

A photo posted to Instagram this week showed the locker completely empty, with a mocking caption to go alongside it. (Clearly it was better to take a photo of the locker than to actually use it).

This isn't the first time Maccas has tried to get customers to put down their phone. The company ran a similar campaign in India a couple years ago imploring the country's youth to go offline. Customers were encouraged to tweet about how long they abandoned the internet for, and what they did during that time. There wasn't that many tweets.

Another initiative by the famous fast food chain rolled out in Asia prompts customers to turn their phone off and leave it in a designated corner of the table.

"Tried it with my godkids and their parents," said one social media user. "Failed within 5 mins."

McDonald's hasn't tried a similar campaign in Australia yet. Perhaps we're beyond help?

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New initiative from Mcd. Parking all mobile phones here to promote family time without distraction. Tried it with my godkids and their parents. Eeeeeer.. failed within 5mins. 😅.. #familyplaydate #phoneofffunon #mcdonaldssg #mcdonalds #familytime #family #kids #sgeats #sgfood #foodie #sgfoodies #sgfoodporn #sgfooddiary #foodsg #foodstagram #foodporn #foodpics #foodlover #instafood #burpple #burpplesg #sgeatout #sgmakandiary #thegrowingbelly #seanfoodtrail #thegoodfatssg

A post shared by Sean Loo (@plutoniumignite) on Oct 15, 2017 at 2:22am PDT