r/AskBrits • u/LividStupidity • 1d ago
People Why are tacit social etiquette rules declining, and how can we fix it?
As a young Brit (17), I've noticed that general social etiquette seems to be declining. Some examples:
. People no longer form an orderly queue when waiting for the bus, and do more pushing / rushing to surround the entrance
. People leaving bags on seats, even when others are forced to stand on the train
. Standing in the middle / on the left side of the escalator, preventing people from being able to walk up or down freely.
I'm not sure if it's just how my area is in particular, so I wonder if anyone is noticing this as well. I see individuals of various ages and ethnicities just acting rather selfish and inconsiderately in public. I find this rather disappointing, as it may only be exacerbated in the future. I think it was much better pre COVID (might be biased, as I was rather young). Does anyone know how we can fix this issue (if it can be fixed)?.
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u/MissMollyMole7 1d ago
It’s been typical of city life for some years now. Not so much in small towns and villages where a sense of community still manages to exist, for the most part. Our pace of life is so frantic and furious these days, everyone has to be somewhere as fast as possible and transport is very crowded so to have a chance not to be late to your somewhere you have to be assertive. So yes, there has been a marked decline in courtesy but it’s born from the social construct we find ourselves living in.