Do you believe that manners are dead in today's society?

Question

Such as saying good morning, afternoon, or night to strangers, or When calling a company or anyone else, you ask "how are you today" and give the proper greeting. Sometimes people are just plain rude and ask what do you want, and so on

Answer 1

I think it's dying, but not dead yet. I try to be polite and manner-ish, because that's how I was raised. But I do agree that there are a lot of people that are too selfish, or just plain too lazy to possess any manners anymore. And the sad thing? ... I know people that are PROUD of being lazy. They think it's cool or something. It's appalling.

Answer 2

Ailing terribly, but not dead .... yet.

Yes, life is busy. And while we might be too busy or preoccupied to indulge in a 5-minute prelude of social niceties before dealing with the main topic, saying "please" and "thank you" and the like take up no time at all.

Manners are learned at home, and they take little time to instill. Children are natural people pleasers, and usually there is no one they want to please more than mom or dad. More often than not they will meet expectations and the standards you set for them.

Children's manners show the respect they have for their parents, siblings and family, and then for friends and acquiantances. And manners have to be acquired early enough, so that they are a natural part of one's makeup. Of course, they can be learned later in life, but that takes a great deal more work and thought, as well as the resolve to do so.

Good manners are also a source of social confidence. When you meet the a corporate bigwig and know the correct response to "How do you do?" (which is "How do you do?"), you don't find out later on that you've made a booboo by telling him how you're doin'!

I suppose if we could all stay in our late teens and early 20s, we'd not need manners as much. In the big, bad, and very competitive world one is judged by any number of things, one of which is our knowledge of basic ettiquette. I feel that many kids these days are not as well equipped to face some of the challenges out there as they could be.

Answer 3

Yes, I believe that people don't take the time to be civil and courteous to each other. Everyone always seems to be in a rush today and can't be bothered with little details such as "how are you doing". Phone calls are made to get information and not to check up and see how a person is doing.

Answer 4

Unfortunately today's society does leave a lot to be desired when in comes to simple manners & civility. I have found thought that if I am polite, in most cases it surprises them & they are generally polite back. When it comes to a places of business, it should be required & if someone is really rude I report them to a manager & then follow up with a letter to the CEO of the company. Rudeness in a business should never be acceptable.

Answer 5

yes, i see fewer and fewer people using manners, just 'getting to the point,' like saying 'is x there?' on the phone, before asking how whoever answered feels. it's disgusting. it is so easy to be polite.

i make my life easier by being polite, or at least not as rude/crude as some impolite people are: by being polite, they usually get the message, and, they actually enjoy being treated politiely, so they actually enjoy acting polite. that is the way we should act, it shows that we feel respect towards other human beings.

the reason we are known as the 'ugly american' in so many countries around the world, especially france, is that we go into their stores as though we are in a k-mart: just try to find a full set of sheets and pillowcases in one of those stores. you can't, because some ignoramous made a snap decision to purchase pillowcases and then changed her mind. so she rudely placed them on some toy shelf. how simple it is to return them to where you found them, and that is polite, that is called consideration of others.

it's really easy to travel to other lands when you learn a little bit about their culture, what is expected in your behavior towards them, little things that might annoy them. but particularly, you are not seen so much as an 'ugly american' when you have learned and practice saying, in their language, 'good moring,' 'good afternoon,' 'good evening,' 'how are you,' 'may i have x?', 'could you please help me find x?', etc. in many (at least european) countries, people are a little more formal than we are and they appreciate polite phrases before you say anything else. also, the clerks take great pride in keeping items neatly on shelves, available for the next customer. it is considered to be ENORMOUSLY RUDE when you walk in front of a clerk and just grab whatever pleases you. then to put it down just anywhere! how impolite!

all it takes is common sense to be polite. you ask yourself how you'd like to be treated and then you treat others that way. the more you show others that you respect their humanity the easier life gets.

Answer 6

they're not gone. i deal with the public and most people are very nice to me and say "thank you" and "have a good day" etc. greeting strangers on the street or other outdated etiquette things does not make you a nice person. but sure, there are some rude people, no doubt.

Answer 7

for the most part yes, but i think that manners should be taught as an extracurricular in schools (so kids can take it if they want to), parents either don't have time or don't care to teach their children manners and it is a shame because it is turning society into more and more of a cesspool

Answer 8

Not completely dead, but diminished to an extent. Parents who spoil their children and fail to teach them common courtesy perform injustice to their children and society as a whole.
where you still find manners is in members of society generally in their late thirties and above, and always among TRUE Christians of any age.
The Golden Rule is a good pracitce.

Answer 9

They are getting rarer for sure but they're not completely gone . . . yet. If you keep using better manners people kind of get the idea and reciprocate. You can help keep them alive by using them yourself! It does seem like the younger people are the fewer manners they have. I hope they don't simply think they're old fashioned and dorky but maybe they just don't hear them/use them enough at home.

Answer 10

Nah... just varied in a society like America...
and moreso busy.

Technology has made us more "self-focused"... mmm, I mean "efficient" so it's hard to take notice of the beautiful life all around us!

I mean, when's the last time you took a moment to smell the roses? It's simply not on our route to work, eh?