Manners - Where have they gone? Did the Economy or the Internet do them in?
“Thank you all for coming. For those of you who knew Manners, you were amongst the luck ones. Manners was a kind, generous soul who made everyone’s life just a little brighter for having known him. Many of us are better people for having known Manners and it is a sad day for those who will never get a chance to learn from him and pass on his knowledge to the people in their lives.”
Of course, we’re not truly eulogizing manners, but you have to ask yourself, “Where have they gone?”
This is just more of an observation and not finger pointing. I have just noticed over the last year or so a noticeable lacking of professional manners from individuals and organizations. It is as if manners never existed at all in some of these instances.
These days, it just seems as though people can’t be bothered. It is because the economy has us just so unsettled we have forgotten these basic manners? Are companies so understaffed that personnel have pushed aside simple manners in order to save time?
Or, has the Internet done away with such niceties? Gone are the days of personal cover letters and applications. Now, we just attach documents and submit them with very little given to the presentation. Why? It just doesn’t seem to matter all that much since you can do it in such bulk.
Has Social Media and its brief, stutter-step, impersonal approach made most people forget what it is to draft an appropriate note? I have noticed a large downturn in the use of manners since we evolved past email and into this ever growing world that is Web 2.0 and beyond.
I tend to think it is a mixture of both – almost like a Perfect Storm. But, it is my hope that this is a temporary situation that will remedy itself once saner, and more prosperous, times prevail.
So, do yourself a favor and take the time to write a thank you note, reply to somebody in something more than 140 characters or just by writing on their Wall. Let’s make an effort to keep from truly eulogizing such an important part of our lives.
