The Oxford Dictionary defines civility as, “formal politeness and courtesy in behavior or speech." The opportunity for civility is present in every setting and situation, but the opportunity for incivility is just as present. Unfortunately incivility has become the “new norm” in our society and is slowly taking over our culture and how we communicate with others. Civility touches every aspect of the American society, but with the rise in cellphone and smartphone usage it seems clear that these are leading causes of incivility in our society. Weber Shandwicks’ article states that, “7 in 10 Americans believe incivility has hit crisis levels.” This article also states that, “95% believe we have a civility problem in America.” I believe the main culprit of this decline in civility and rise in incivility is technology, especially cellphones. We are distracted by our cellphones and we hide behind them. Weber Shandwicks’ website also states that about one-third of the seven out of ten Americans that believe incivility has reached crisis levels believe that cellphones/smartphones are to blame. The Huffington Post states that, “adults in the United States spend more than five hours each day on “nonvoice mobile activities, "including Internet use on phones and tablets.”
I agree that civility means being polite and courteous in behavior and in speech, however, I think we need to understand that civility also means being able to express your opinions and disagreements in a respectful manner. In my opinion, I feel that we need to focus as much on the behavior aspect of civility as we do about the speech aspect of civility. There are so many issues dealing with incivility in behavior and interactions with others that we see every day but don’t realize that these too are considered being uncivil. Technology is an enabler to these uncivil behaviors and communication. I feel that our society doesn’t understand that our behav...