Originally Posted by
Wogster
It used to be considered rude, but now people must be connected to their phones 25 hours a day, 8 days a week, 53 weeks a year, so there is no unacceptable place to be on the phone...
I think that this, rather than an across-the-board increase in rudeness, is the point. In some areas, like smoking and picking up after your dog, there has been improvement. In others, most conspicuously cell phone use and driving, things are worse, at least in part because it is seen as "necessary" and accepted by a large chunk of society that wants to be able to do the same.