The New York Times reported on a trend in the Sunday Styles section this morning — no, it wasn’t a review of the recent Margiela for H&M collaboration or a recap of a dress Kate Middleton wore, it was about how our social calendars have evolved with faster communication.
More so, the article questions how social media and texting may have actually made us prone to being ill-mannered flakes when it comes to making plans with others.
Case in point: Have you ever had plans with someone, only to have them text a “sorry I can’t make it” message 10 minutes before the appointment? Or worse, 30 minutes after the appointment was scheduled? At least in New York City, the city where I personally reside, this is far from rare.
Before texting and tweeting were of common practice, you had to call someone on the phone and excessively apologize. Now, a quick email can get the point across without the awkwardness.
On the other hand, with easier communication comes the ability to pack more into a schedule. Scheduling, canceling, and re-scheduling becomes a breeze — after all, it’s hard to stay mad when “everyone” is doing it.
As a digitally-savvy group, what do you think? Is there an inherent rudeness escalating with our increase usage of fast and easy social communication? Or are the etiquette rules simply evolving with the times?
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If you’ve got plans and you can’t make it, give as much warning as possible; weeks if it’s a big event, days if it’s smaller, hours if you had something come up that’s last minute or an emergency that prevents you from keeping your plans. If you’re running late, or you anticipate you will be late, calling 10 minutes beforehand to say “hey, I’m going to be 10 minutes late” is acceptable; but 10 minutes beforehand for a full cancellation is never a good idea–30 minutes after is even worse! While it’s easier to schedule and re-schedule, it doesn’t mean it’s as easy to make time for whatever period you want to re-schedule for.