Once frowned upon, these acts of possible contention take place with casual frequency these days. But what’s acceptable and what’s not? Are you a stickler for old-fashioned etiquette or does your behaviour unwittingly leave you in breach of the unspoken rules of modern manners?
On any train journey you are likely to see young folk applying a full face of makeup. While their skill in applying eyeliner with the steady hand of a surgeon in a bumpy carriage is to be admired, their gurning whilst smoothing in foundation is somewhat comical. My own view would be that in public, one’s makeup application should be limited to a discrete pat of powder on one’s nose. Touching up your lipstick may also be strategically used, perhaps to catch someone’s eye.
For previous generations, a fear of eating whilst walking down the street was instilled by their schools, with offenders being identified by their uniforms and swiftly reported. These days, hordes of people clutching Greggs bags seem to walk and eat through any town centre. I know time is precious these days, but for goodness sakes, find yourself a nice park bench and avert the potential of crumbs on your jacket.
Once identifiable by a gleam visible from across the street, a polished pair of shoes is becoming a rarity. At varying points in fashion it becomes trendy to sport scuffed footwear. I can’t say I always manage to keep my shoes mirror-like, but an emergency wet-wipe can stop them looking shoddy until you have time to polish them properly.
It’s become commonplace to fail to respond to an invitation. This is rife on social media, but applies even to printed wedding invitations, hand-written and hand-delivered (this is from personal experience!) I stand firm on this one – it is a courtesy to reply, and exceedingly bad manners to delay replying in the hope that a better offer will come along.
The use of mobile phones brings an entire raft of bad manner pitfalls into which the unwitting can fall. These are the top three things that irk me, but I am sure you can think of many more:
- Noisy people on public transport – keep conversations brief and lower your volume.
- Being ignored – if spending time with somebody, don’t neglect them by being glued to your phone. If you get a call, ask them to call you back.
- Phones at the dinner table – put it away at mealtimes (or set at a discrete volume, with an explanation to your companion if you need to take an important call).
Do get in touch and let us know what makes your top bad manners list!
