Do Manners Matter?

Here’s a scene you might be familiar with: Your family is sitting around the dinner table, but no one is paying attention to the steaming plates of spaghetti in front of them. Your older sister is taking a selfie with her food for Instagram. Your dad is busy picking salad out of his teeth. Your mom is responding to work emails. Oh, and your little brother just let out a huge, disgusting burp—and, as usual, that burp wasn’t followed by an “excuse me.”

Several examples of bad manners are on display at this dinner table. And scenes like this are happening across America. A whopping 74 percent of Americans think that people are getting ruder overall.

But is that such a bad thing? In the age of texting and TikTok, do manners even matter anymore?

Here’s a scene you might be familiar with: Your family is sitting around the dinner table. But no one is paying attention to the spaghetti. Your older sister is taking a selfie with her food for Instagram. Your dad is busy picking salad out of his teeth. Your mom is responding to work emails. Oh, and your little brother just let out a huge, gross burp. As usual, he didn’t say “excuse me.”

There are many examples of bad manners at this dinner table. And scenes like this are happening across America. Seventy-four percent of Americans think that people are getting ruder.

But is that such a bad thing? In the time of texting and TikTok, do manners even matter anymore?

Manners are a set of rules for how people treat each other and act when they’re together. According to experts, manners show others that you respect and care about them—whether you’re holding the door open for someone, giving up your seat for an elderly person, or simply saying “please” and “thank you.”

“Good manners make other people feel good—they put people at ease,” says Alex J. Packer, author of the manners guide How Rude!

On top of making others happy, manners can also help keep them healthy. By covering your mouth when sneezing or coughing, you can protect people around you from getting sick. What could be more caring than that?

And having good manners isn’t just good for others. It’s also good for you. Studies have shown that kids with good manners grow up to be more successful adults. They get higher grades in school and impress people more easily.

Manners are a set of rules. They tell people how to treat each other and act when they’re together. According to experts, manners show others that you respect and care about them. For example, you might hold the door open for someone. You might give your seat to an older person. Or you might simply say “please” and “thank you.”

“Good manners make other people feel good. They put people at ease,” says Alex J. Packer. He’s the author of the manners guide How Rude!

On top of making others happy, manners can also help keep them healthy. By covering your mouth when sneezing or coughing, you can protect people around you from getting sick. What could be more caring than that?

And having good manners isn’t just good for others. It’s also good for you. Studies have shown that kids with good manners grow up to be more successful adults. They get higher grades in school and impress people more easily.

But some people argue that many manners are a waste of time—that they’re annoying and make it take longer to get important things done. Your days are already full of homework, after-school activities, and time with your family. You can’t spend precious minutes figuring out the proper way to fold a napkin.

Besides, our society has become more casual. We send texts instead of handwritten cards. We say “no prob” instead of “you’re welcome.” It’s not that people don’t care about each other; it’s just that the way we act is less formal than in the past. Practicing traditional manners might make you feel old-fashioned—even kind of dorky.

And think about the serious problems the world is facing today: war, disease, and pollution, to name just a few. Does it really matter if you have your elbows on the table or loudly slurp your soup?

Manners may not seem like a big deal. Still, some say you can’t go wrong by being polite. It’s better for you and everyone else too.

But some people argue that many manners are a waste of time. They say that manners are annoying and make it take longer to get things done. Your days are already full of homework, after-school activities, and time with your family. You don’t have time to figure out the right way to fold a napkin.

Besides, people today are more casual. We send texts instead of handwritten cards. We say “no prob” instead of “you’re welcome.” It’s not that people don’t care about each other. It’s just that the way we act is less formal than in the past. Practicing traditional manners might make you feel old-fashioned and dorky.

And think about the serious problems in the world today. We’re facing issues like war, disease, and pollution. Does it really matter if you have your elbows on the table? And who cares if you loudly slurp your soup?

Manners may not seem like a big deal. Still, some say you can’t go wrong by being polite. It’s better for you and everyone else too.