Yo vs. Hello

While today’s interactions are usually brief and quick, I don’t believe that etiquette is ever antiquated (except for maybe bowing to greet anyone who isn’t royalty). It’s one thing to say in an a text message to someone “Yo, where you at?” but when speaking to someone in person, things will just be much better if one uses proper grammar and greetings to get their message across. Now, I’m not saying that slang isn’t a valid form of communication to the people that use it, but if one’s goal is to be perceived as professional and worth the time that someone takes to talk to them, then they must use proper etiquette. Regardless of the way we communicate on a daily basis, there will always be job interviews and meetings and professional situations where presentation and proper speech coupled with alacrity is important. I don’t believe that technology should affect our etiquette, but when you go online it is obvious that it has. Most people would hesitate to say out loud the things that they write on message boards, Facebook, etc. This shows us that people still focus on how they are in real life, but when people become lax in their manners online and through electronic communication it will inevitably lead them to do the same in person. -Susanne Makosky