Digital Manners

Navigating Relationships with New Technology

Somewhere between the kids on Tic Toc and the grandparents on Facebook more and more of our lives have moved into the digital world. Whether it is the devices in our hands, on our bodies and in our homes or the virtual spaces where we meet, argue, play and learn, new communication technology is changing the ways we relate to each other. What would Emily Post say about all this? Well, once upon a time you needed an etiquette book to get the best advice from Emily Post, now it is a Siri search away. As we all navigate this new space; digital natives, millennials, gen X, boomers and traditionalists alike, we can learn from the shifts in communication that have occurred before and from what has stayed constant as times have changed. Good etiquette serves relationships and new technology can too, as long as we use it well.