I used to have a strong opinion on this and then I lived in another part of the country for a few years and completely changed my mind. Travel does that. What seems obvious where you grew up isn't obvious everywhere.

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.

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 kindness goes a long way here. Whatever the 'right' answer is, you can usually find it by treating people the way you'd want to be treated. That old rule still works better than any complicated theory.

I'd ask your parents or grandparents how things were when they were your age. You'll be surprised — a lot of what feels brand new today actually happened before in a slightly different form. History rhymes.

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.