In this modern world, we can truly say that just about anything goes; but just because something is accepted or even glorified (outrageous celebrity behavior, we’re lookin’ at you) that doesn’t mean etiquette as we knew it, or now know it, is completely off the table. In fact, it’s such a rarity these days that those practicing modern etiquette probably stand out even more in a crowd, and since we still think it’s cool to be kind and polite and mind our manners, here are a few rules of modern etiquette in case you need a quick refresher course!
Don’t eat something that isn’t yours in the shared fridge, whether it’s the office or the home you share with roommates. And if you put leftovers in the fridge make sure you eat them or toss them before they start morphing into a radioactive creature from Stranger Things.
(image via: bhg)
Put the cellular device down. On average, people check their phones about every 12 minutes and if you’re just sitting around the house or whatever, that’s totally fine, we get it, but if you’re having a face-to-face interaction with someone, the social media can wait.
If you need to have a personal conversation or discussion with someone, don’t do it online for the world to see. Just don’t.
Don’t be the “drop in” friend. We get it, years ago there were no cell phones and you could just stop by a friend’s house and catch up, but in today’s modern world, it’s always polite to check in with friends and family before stopping by. They could be out of town, have other guests over, or simply still be in their pajamas at 2 PM, eating cold leftover pizza and not want any company at the moment, so always check first!
(image via: unsplash)
This is a big one, we TOTALLY get wanting to snap a few photos, maybe even get a few seconds of your favorite song, but for the love of everything, don’t be on your phone taking photos and recording for the entirety of a concert. This is incredibly distracting to the people around you and we promise you, the people behind you didn’t pay just as much in ticket costs to watch you record on your phone.
Please and thank you are still magic words and don’t you forget it.
Wear your Airpods to all the places, just don’t use them as an excuse to be completely anti-social. We know, we know, you’re wearing them so you don’t have to make small talk, and we get that, but if you accidentally cut someone off when walking or end up being in their space somehow, make sure you still remember to apologize to them or say “excuse me.”
Use your turn signals. That’s it, that’s the rule.
(image via: car parts)
Don’t lend someone a book, movie, or album unless they specifically ask for it. If you do, they’ll get busy with life and not get to it and feel guilty, and then everything is weird.