Homework 2.1. Manners Matter (Online, too!)

When I was young, I owned a own copy of Tiffany's Table Manners for Teenagers, and I loved it. Knowing which knife and fork to use and when, how to set your knife when you've finished your meal, whether one should eat stalks of asparagus with a knife and fork or pick it up with their fingers; I felt empowered by the knowledge of all of this etiquette. Perhaps it made me feel a little less like the awkward middle-schooler that I was, and more like the poised and elegant lady that I so badly wanted to be. 

When it comes to the etiquette of technology, however, Tiffany's has yet to release a guide, either for teenagers or otherwise. Luckily, eEtiquette.com has offered "101 Guidelines for the Digital World," for those of us who might wonder about the appropriate use of our cell phones, our email, our Twitter accounts, in the same way that we might wonder which fork might be used for salad and which for dessert. Like standard manners at the dinner table, a lot of these suggestions for the proper usage of our devices can feel somewhat second nature; they are simply the ways that we as a culture have accepted as standard politeness, especially for those of us who have lived with these technologies nearly our whole lives. Most of us would never think to go through a friend's phone without permission, or peer over a stranger's shoulder as they tapped in their PIN at the ATM. However, it is helpful to have these gentle guidelines available to us, to remind us that whether we are awkward teens or have a grown a bit since then, we should still strive for poise and elegance in the use of our digital devices, as in any other area of our lives. 

Regarding eating asparagus, it is proper to defer to the lead of the hostess, as both eating it with your fingers and eating with a knife and fork are equally acceptable. Regarding eEtiquette, some of my favorites notes of advice are listed below: 

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