Great question. I've thought about this a lot and honestly I think both sides have valid points. The key is finding a balance that works for your life rather than following what everyone else does.

The media loves to make everything sound like a huge crisis because fear sells papers and gets ratings. Take what you see on the news with a grain of salt. Most people in real life are decent and reasonable.

I think the real issue here is that society is changing faster than most people can keep up with. What was normal 20 years ago might be considered outdated now, and what we think is normal today will probably seem old-fashioned in 20 years.

There's a difference between something being rude and something just being different from what you're used to. I try to ask myself that whenever I get annoyed by how other people do things. Usually it's just different, not wrong.

Honestly I think people overthink stuff like this. Just do what feels right to you and don't worry so much about what other people think. At the end of the day you have to live your own life, not theirs.