#Social questions nytimes how to

I can't tell you the number of people who express hurt or confusion and anger at not knowing what went wrong or 'Is it really over? Am I supposed to be fighting to get it back?' after getting a text.' as long as the e-communication is a prelude to the real conversation, I'm down with that, too.'Įarlier this month, we asked our Facebook fans for any burning etiquette questions they wanted to ask Galanes. 'I still want to make sure that the person gets the telephone call or the coffee date where the personal conversation happens. ' you're using an email or text to be even kinder so that somebody isn't taken by surprise,' he says. We have to talk,' in preparation for the in-person breakup. Galanes says it is appropriate, however, for the breaker-upper to send an email saying something like, 'This isn't working out. 'When we actually imagine that someone with feelings is going to open an email or text message and say, 'You're toast' - that can just never be right,' he says. It might be easier for the breaker-upper to avoid a face-to-face meeting, says Galanes, but that doesn't mean it's appropriate. Take, for instance, the breakup via text or email. The Internet may make communication easier, but that doesn't mean the rules of etiquette change, he says. Your purchase helps support NPR programming.

Everything now is type and send, type and send.'Ĭlose overlay Buy Featured Book Title Social Q's Subtitle How to Survive the Quirks, Quandaries and Quagmires of Today Author Philip Galanes I better circle back around to that.' So we don't do that anymore. we could hear a little hitch in someone's voice and think, 'Oh, oh, there's a problem. ' we started talking to people almost exclusively on email and Twitter and Facebook. 'The e-explosion has caused us to lose some of our savvy in dealing with people,' he tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. In his new book, Social Q's: How to Survive the Quirks, Quandaries and Quagmires of Today, Galanes details how to handle relationships, moral dilemmas and everyday scenarios made all the more difficult by the peculiarities of our digital world.

The New York Times advice columnist has been answering readers' questions about all sorts of social conundrums for the past three years. Need advice on when it's appropriate to break up with someone over email? Want to know how to react if your dinner companion whips out a cellphone midway through a meal? What about how to deal with your annoying relatives during the holidays?Īsk Philip Galanes. This interview was originally broadcast on Dec. When you're out with friends, put your cell phone away, advises New York Times advice columnist Philip Galanes.

#Social questions nytimes how to