Much of our daily life is spent amongst strangers in various social situations. But with any interaction with strangers comes the potential for incivility, including; rude, selfish, inconsiderate or inappropriate behaviour. And it seems that this type of behaviour is becoming more and more the norm. But why is this? A few years ago I conducted a research project on this subject and found that one of the most common responses to incivility today, was humour or indifference. I have to wonder if this tacit acceptance by many, is to blame for the increase in incidence in rude behaviour.
But where does this blase attitude come from? Perhaps it is caused by the many shows that seem to celebrate the very worst displays of human conduct, such as Jackass. It appears there are no limits anymore to what can or should be done in the name of entertainment, the more disgusting or dangerous or just downright stupid the act, the better. As such it is perhaps no surprise to now see an ad for a children’s television show doing that same thing. To see such actions used as a comic relief for adults was bad enough but with this latest development in the children’s programming arena, we as a society seem to have reached an all time low. With this type of humour increasingly seen as normal by children is it any wonder that in society, incivility is no longer the exception but is more often the rule.
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