Best Behavior

The days of dressing for dinner, handwriting thank-you notes and keeping our elbows off the table may be going the way of the horse and buggy, but that doesn’t mean good manners aren’t important in today’s world. But how exactly does etiquette fit into our era of smart phones and Instagram? Here are six tips to keep courteous in today’s culture.

Look Up

Scrolling through our smart phones is an excellent way to spend a few spare moments; however, many of us are so attached to our phones that we almost never put them down. This attachment leaves us staring down at our screens in social settings, which can be disrespectful to the people we are actually with. Whether you’re at a formal dinner party, enjoying casual drinks with friends or networking with colleagues, make every effort possible to keep your phone out of sight and set on silent. If you need to check in, do your best to excuse yourself.

Know Your Audience

Texting is an efficient way to keep up with people in our social and business circles, but efficiency and etiquette don’t always see eye to eye. If you need to deliver bad news, for example (business, personal or otherwise), it might warrant a face-to-face conversation, phone call or e-mail, depending on your relationship with the receiver.

Think of Emily Before You Post

Iconic etiquette author Emily Post famously cited consideration, respect and honesty as the basis for good manners. Take a scroll through any social media feed and, undoubtedly, there will be at least a few users who have neglected these principles. It’s never a good idea to publicly post mean-spirited rants, personal details that aren’t yours to share or any content or language that could make your network feel uncomfortable or disrespected.

Like It or Not

Most of us are big fans of the “like” or “favourite” button on our social media feeds, but there are moments when we’re not sure if “like” is right. In those instances when you don’t necessarily like the news (perhaps bad news) but want to acknowledge you’ve seen it, consider opting for a simple comment to clearly convey your feeling. Our final “like” tip: stay clear of liking your own posts.

Slow Your Camera Roll

The rise of Instagram and Snapchat has led to a seemingly selfie-obsessed society. To keep your manners in check, curb your picture-taking impulse at social functions unless, of course, it’s the type of event that encourages it or it’s your job and you are expected to. When it comes to tagging friends in a photo or post, always get permission. Even if it seems innocent, the wrong post at the wrong time can damage a friendship or career.

An E-mail Isn’t a Text

An e-mail can deliver a message almost instantly, but it is, in fact, still a letter. So remember to start every e-mail with a “hello,” especially in business communication. It’s also a good idea to steer clear of the chat shorthand prevalent in text messages: “See you tomorrow” is much more courteous in an e-mail than “C u 2morrow.”

#dontuseamillionhashtags

The point of a hashtag is to promote or categorize a post, or sometimes it’s just a way to be funny. But what happens when we use too many? #annoying, that’s what. Remember, less is more—try not to exceed five hashtags per post.

Did You Know?

One of the biggest social media faux pas is over-sharing. No one likes their entire news feed clogged up by one overzealous user. Don’t abuse your social media networks—limit your posts to one or two every few hours.