Does social media encourage bad table manners?
The latest handsets and other mobile devices may be helping a new generation to stay safer and better connected but it’s making them ruder.
Social media is changing the way we live and from an etiquette aspect there is a lot to be said, for plain old social skills and respect. Manners have been forgotten, because our attention is on the mobile phone instead of face to face conversation and respect of others around us.
Etiquette and Manners.
We all have online identities now where we act slightly differently. Would you give out and bitch about people in the real world to a person’s face like you would online? Hiding behind our keyboards gives us a certain amount of anonymity and allows us to act in ways that we would never consider in the real world.
When I look at a restaurant table and see 4 out of 5 people with their heads buried in phones checking their email and snapping pictures of their food it really doesn’t feel right. Why do we feel like we need to record everything digitally while socialising and should we not just be living for the moment when out with friends and family?
A study among a group of 58 senior executives which found that well over half looked for social skills rather than academic achievement in candidates for promotion. They believed that a major problem among young employees was ‘constant use of mobile phones and social media in the office.’ A majority felt the written skills of young employees were ‘appalling’. The report cited ‘a rift between virtual and real world personalities’, saying that 15 per cent of the people in its poll would feel confident walking into a room where they didn’t know anybody, while 62 per cent would be confident about creating a profile on a social networking site.
One in four are uncomfortable about meeting a new colleague face-to-face, and nearly half say they are nervous when they have to stand up in a meeting and give a formal presentation.
Technology can enhance a lot of real world situations but does it need to invade everything we done offline?.
Developing and maintaining a high level of skills across social and professional spheres is crucial to ensure success in both the workplace and everyday life. Business training for under- 30s is a vital investment to succeed in the global market of today. Think about it!