Social etiquette has always changed to reflect the times, and considering the hyper-connected age we live in, it’s changing before our very eyes. Technology-driven changes in human interaction no longer bother to wait a generation to announce their presence. They occur at lightning speed, so subtle that you don’t quite see them, until they’ve chipped away the old norms and built new rituals in their place.
Give everyone a mobile phone, and it’s no longer considered rude to answer a telephone call in front of company. Rather, you’re being rude to the person on the phone if you ignore his/her call. Being the focus of attention during an in-person meeting has undergone a fundamental shift: no longer common courtesy, it’s now a great way to gauge a person’s value. If you’re out at a romantic little café and your phone isn’t sullying the intimate table-for-two between you and your date: suffice it to say that you must really like him/her.
I saw a great example of new, technology-driven social behaviour on a bus in Singapore recently; three teenage friends boarded together, and leaned up against one side of the bus. Without a word, all three girls simultaneously whipped out their iPods and got comfy in their individual music bubbles, while standing facing each other the entire time. Then, following a barely discernible hand motion by the group leader, all three sets of earphones were off as they trooped out into the heart of Singapore’s busy shopping district, eager to begin spending the day out with their friends.
I’m looking forward to seeing how deep this rabbit hole goes.
