Ten Etiquette Rules for Modern Adult Life

Can we please just all agree on how to behave?

Photo by OurWhisky Foundation on Unsplash

One of my workday distraction-rewards — the tabs I let myself click over to when I’ve accomplished an actual task — are advice columns. I read Slate’s advice section religiously, and the Washington Post’s slightly less religiously; I remain a daily peruser of various AITA boards on Reddit. Some of my favorites involve basic etiquette, in part because so many of the old rules seem to have been tossed out the window and in part because a lot of people are just wildly, insanely rude and I am so so so curious about how they got that way. One benefit of this particular obsession is a peek into how other people think about obligations, politeness, and manners — and how many people don’t seem to consider those things at all.

So here are my top ten etiquette rules for modern life. Curious to hear yours in the comments.