Alina Tugend of the New York Times ponders whether all of our texting and e-mailing, during luncheons, recitals, and meetings, etc. is fostering a less civil society. Tugend notes that Christine Pearson, a professor of management at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona, said her research over the last decade had shown that many workers left jobs because of continuing incivility but rarely reported that as the reason:
“We defined it as the low end of disregard and dysfunction in the workplace — being rude, such as ignoring request for help, ignoring a colleague when passing in the hall, gossiping behind colleagues’ backs, borrowing supplies without asking.”
Is the decline in manners is real or not? Our technology allows us to be more engaged and connected with friends and business associates than ever before, but has the communication changed because we don’t interact face-to-face as much? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
It’s interesting to think that something as seemingly innocent as texting could be changing the civility of discourse in the United States.
I read this article when it came out last week, and didn’t really think much of it. However, when I look at some of the examples pulled from the article (noted above in the MinnPost article), I realize that something as inane as texting really could be changing how Americans interact with each other.
I think it would be a very interesting proposition to look at the long term social changes in civility, while minding one’s own personal recollections of the “good ol’ days.”