Why is it the society now is more educated but less well mannered?

Question

As time goes by our education increases and we have more books and technology to learn and grow our knowledge but why is it that within our education growth we are losing our manners towards each other and respect for our families and friends???

Answer 1

Because we've come to realize that people have to earn our respect.

Answer 2

People are becoming educated at the same time as there is an incredible increase in technological connectivity. With the advent of instant communication and other analogous technology, we are beginning to expect things to be more instant, less time consuming, and for people and things to "get to the point."
A good example of this is to contrast the old-fashioned letter with an e-mail. A letter contains a great deal of social conventions, depending on the level of formality. But the idea of e-mail is speed and efficiency; the lackadaisical conventions of e-mail militate against the excessive use of punctuation, spelling and even social dithering (e.g. I hope you and you family are doing well...) in order to get straight to the point. It is not necessarily a loss of respect towards families and others, but simply an adaptation to a more high-paced world.

Answer 3

Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.
-Clarence Thomas-
This is coming from a guy who was accused of sexual harassment. lol

I agree with another poster in that, we are now living in a society that is less dependent on each other. The only people that we really depend on are in service positions such as waitstaff, grocery clerks, etc. and some people have a elitist attitude towards those people. Also people with higher education tend to have a competitive spirit about themselves. That is how they make it in the corporate arena and sometimes its hard to separate that from real life. And then being that we are never really in one place for a long period of time anymore, other than the workplace which is already competitive, people are beginning to lack social skills. I try hard to be nice, but sometimes I myself get in a self-serving mind-frame.

Answer 4

I have a bit of a theory about this. There is a much larger population now than only 40 years ago. Space, goods, and services are more and more at a premium. People may be ill-mannered because it makes them seem more powerful (powerful people often don't have to follow the normal rules of courtesy, even though they should); they may also be ill-mannered simply to be noticed, and as they say, the squeaky wheel does often get the proverbial grease.

I think ill-mannered behavior can also cover up feelings of inferiority - a bluff, if you will; it's a scary world out there, and those who can't cope with the fact often cover up with rudeness, again (I believe) to make themselves feel more powerful, and thus more in control.

Like I said - that's my grand theory - hopefully it might help.

Answer 5

My opinion is this, what used to be learned at home and in early development at school is no longer being taught. People say you have to earn their respect, but isn't that earned by showing it in the first place? Hardly anyone pays too much attention to this small flaw in society. Maybe we can start a trend and bring it back.

Answer 6

In a prosperous society, people are less dependent on others. They stay to themselves more. Republicans are doing their best to reverse progress, though. They need people to relate to them. They would be happy if the middle class was eliminated.

Answer 7

I would not agree that we are better educated but definitely there is a lack of manners.

Answer 8

I so agree with your observation about society. Things are so competitive and instant gratification lends to these problems. I hope people can be kinder to one another.

Answer 9

Because we haven't learned the essentials: love and respect for others.

Answer 10

Because they can not form sentence structures and live off of run on sentences.

educational growth shows, by your analogy, that you are well mannered.