Here we go again.
Pregnant? Incapacitated? Elderly? Then ‘i-Gen’ are not your friend. They’re the under 20s who – according to a survey of 2500 – are more concerned with themselves than manners in public.
Staring, talking loudly, texting while weaving all over the footpath.
And that’s to say nothing of those who have no idea how to wield an umbrella on a rainy day in a crowded plaza.
The survey asked people from across the generations (from the under 20s to the Baby Boomers and senior citizens) how they felt about giving up their seat on trains and buses and other acts many of us assumed were basic manners.
“The survey found I-Gen are less likely to open a door for women, more likely to look the other way when a pregnant woman is searching for a seat and more accepting of calling work colleagues “darl” or “hon”.
Those aged 20 to 30 fared little better, coming in second-rudest, while senior citizens were unsurprisingly at the other end of the spectrum.
“It’s dangerous to walk down the street today because people are sending text messages and not watching what they’re doing,” etiquette immortal June Dally-Watkins said yesterday.
“You have to communicate with people eye to eye, face to face, and that’s what gives us personality.”
The whole conversation was started after soon-to-give-birth journalist Letitia Rowlands wrote a column about the daily battle to find a seat on Sydney’s packed trains. Have a guess how that worked for her.
“At eight months pregnant with my second child, it’s not hard for me to feel like the elephant in the room.
But the ability of a packed peak-hour Sydney train to ignore my supersize existence leaves me gobsmacked.
All eyes are diverted from the moment those lucky seat-dwellers spy me and my belly out the window as the train pulls into my station.
It’s easy to get carried away when anyone talks about the ‘generations’. (Is there even an agreed upon, uniform age for each gen?) But maybe there’s a nugget of truth in all this. Maybe as time drags on, each new brood of people reinterpret what we consider to be manners law. It used to be in vogue for men to help ladies across the street, bow and tip their hats without so much as an introduction. Now they don’t even really wear hats, and so on.
And what’s the difference between eternally relevant good manners and being a bit over the top and unwieldy?
So, over to you. What are the worst manners offences and who are the worst offenders? Can any one group be singled out?
Top Comments
Middle aged people are the rudest, I am in my 30s and while I find younger people can be a bit annoying, they generally are not out and out rude for no good reason. 50 somethings, babyboomers are usually the most impatient, rude and selfish people you could encounter. I was standing aside in a crowded shop yesterday to let a little old lady pass by as she looked like it was not easy for her to walk and was a bit scared of getting bumped into with all the people around. While I am leaving her room to step around me a couple of 50 year olds came pushing through, bumping into me and the old lady. Absolutely ridiculous!
I have actually found the least considerate generation are the 35-50year olds. Seriously. I work as a speed dating host, so I regularly deal with all the agegroups (ranging from 18 - 70+). People in their 20s - mid 30s tend to be lovely - fun, respectful and appreciative - ditto the over 50s, who are hilarious, so polite and respectful, and out for a good time! But 35-45/50 year olds tend to be the rudest. There will regularly be individuals who spend most of their night complaining and belittling others (to feel better about themselves maybe?)
In terms of more general circumstances, whenever I'm on a train/tram, it is the schoolkids who instantly give up their seats without question. Then the people in their 20s. The over 35s - forget it. They are glued to their seats.
I have also recently gone back to uni, and having regular classes with students in their late teens and early 20s, I am constantly delighted by how positive, energised, motivated and confident they are. Yes there are some tools. But most I have come across are very considerate. Yes, they may text more. Who cares? Everyone does!
I don't like to whitewash any generation, saying everyone in it is the same. Frankly, I think that's ridiculous. But if there is a trend in terms of lack of courtesy, I have noticed it more in the the 35-50 agegroup rather than the late teens/20s. Leave the kids alone!!
(For the record I have just turned 30, and am a proud gen-Yer).
I'd agree about 35-50s. I'm heavily pregnant, and if that age group reported in a survey that they stand up for the pregnant, they wrote such out of vanity. They are the first to hide behind a newspaper. You'd think at least some of the women could empathise..