Is it just me or are manners really on the way out? It is not just the houseviewers who dont let me know they are not coming,  it is other things like just saying thank you. eg the other day a friend posted on fb asking for info about something. I asked what he wanted to know and then posted quite a detailed reply with a lot of information.  and yet there was no acknowledgement, not even a quick thankyou. just a polite thanks doesnt cost much.  even driving people dont acknowledge when you wave them out at junctions any more. Or am I turning in to a grumpy old woman?

No, it isnt you. There are many ignorant folk out there. I always say it cost nothing to say thanks...absolutely free they are. I always acknowledge someone who may step aside/wait say in the supermarket. If driving & someone waits, I acknowledge it. Mind you I was(probably like yourself) brought up to respect my elders & to be polite to others.
Some are so wrapped up in there own worlds, they forget there are others in it!

Believe me I work as a receptionist in an emergency department and the rude ignorant people we sometimes have to deal with is astounding. On a better note I suppose 80% are really nice and appreciated we are trying to help them !! The other thing I find is that people have forgotten how to treat other peoples possessions and space, we have plenty of rubbish bins but the array of used coffee cups (From the machine) and sweetie wrappers scattered around the waiting room is unbelievable, and magazines just left and never replaced on the rack. We regularly have to get the maintenance lads in to clear blocked toilets when people think its fun to pull all the paper towels out and stuff them down the loo !! Just occasionally someone says thank you, It is such a refreshing change. We take lots of rudeness and know that waiting for hours in a hospital waiting room is horrid, but the receptionists are doing their best, the nurses are working hard and the NHS is struggling to cope with the amount of people it cares for. There really is no need (As happens regularly) to stand in the middle of a full waiting room shouting your mouth off about having to wait for a while to be seen...when your problem is a minor one, remember someone may be having a heart attack and the Drs might be genuinely busy. 
Aileen

No it's not just you smithy - the world had changed.

There are few manners and little respect for other people or their possessions here and it's not just me being a grumpy oldie with a bus pass - my 36 year old daughter has seen a difference in her time too! 

But when I travel to Europe I don't see the same.  Nor, even with their ridiculously cheap alcohol, do I see drunk youngsters everywhere!  A sad state of affairs here.

I own my own shop and cannot believe the ignorance and arrogance of "Sorry to say" most people. They come in and are so rude, no please, no thank you, they just blurt out questions even when you are serving someone else. Mothers allow their kids to run riot, people pick up things and just chuck them back down anywhere. And as a Man I am sorry to inform you that "Little Old Ladies tell me far too much about their intimate details" and I really do mean far tooooooo much 

Bad manners and rudeness is rife. The girl who served me at the garden centre today didn't say a word, just thrust the credit card machine in front of me and handing me the receipt after. Then driving home someone sailed past me without acknowledgement that I gave way to her, so as both our windows were open I shouted out THANKYOU.
It doesn't cost anything to be civil does it?

'Where have all the manners gone?'

They're locked away in all of the media devices that people use today!! Along with the ability to talk in nothing other that text speak and emoticons!!

Hear hear to all of the above. I keep wondering if it is just me. I work in housing so i expect a certain amount of frustration from residents but i even had it from a duty solicitor in court last week. Shouting the odds at me in a full reception area.

Just had someone nearly take me out with their trolley in Tesco from behind! I did actually say to her I'll get out of your way shall i?

What's that saying the more i see of folk the more i love dogs......

There do seem to be an abundance of us grumpy old women.  :-)

I despair sometimes.  But I do think that todays kids have been raised by parents who don't teach manners, because they don't have any themselves.

Oh, the good old days.  :-)

> What's that saying the more i see of folk the more i love dogs......

And that is fairly apt - because if people don't have manners, how can they teach their dog to have any, or would?

Charlotte (age 5): Some of my chicken pox spots have fallen off today
Me: That's lovely Charlotte
Charlotte: Thank you

Me: Would you like some strawberries
Charlotte: Ooo, yes please

Me: Sneezes
Charlotte: Bless you Nannie
Me: Thank you darling
Charlotte: You're welcome

So long as we keep up standards ourselves, our children will do likewise. There are plenty of ignorant people out there and manners have declined dramatically in my lifetime, but I do notice a difference in people's responses if you are repeatedly polite to them.  Of course, that may only work on those you see repeatedly. :)

Sometimes I despair, men sat down on the bus as a mother with toddler is struggling and standing up. Teenagers who think its fine to use up a seat with their school bag and give you a dirty look or just ignore you when you ask to sit down. Once upon a time our country was world famous for politeness but now, you can feel embarassed to be English.

But when I travel to Europe I don't see the same.  Nor, even with their ridiculously cheap alcohol, do I see drunk youngsters everywhere!  A sad state of affairs here.

Amen to that one.   And even with dogs - in Europe you see them all over the place, in towns, restaurants etc. and there's no picking a way through piles of mess.   Just dogs behaving themselves, with responsible owners.

Unfortunately we live in a society now where it's all about 'self' .    But when nobody can touch kids these days, not even parents (a lot of whom don't know any better either!) and certainly not teachers or the police, a break-down in society was always bound to happen.   Sad.

Oh gosh, don't get me started, lol! 

Rude, selfish, irresponsible, lacking in common sense, ... sums up many people these days ...  and many companies ...  too busy reading 'script' from computer screens instead of actually listening to your query/problem.  Lol!

I've noticed a big difference between country and town, generally where I am, people are polite, will say hello, or give a friendly nod when passing, even if you don't know them.
Where as when I go into Edinburgh, I find people very rude and pushy.
I get rather narked at other drivers who don't even give you any acknowledgment when you give way to them or pull in to let them pass on a narrow street.