Are good manners and etiquette still important?

Yes...I am a baby boomer! Raised in a middle class blue collar family in upstate New York. As I was growing up, like everyone I learned to use my "good manners"...to say please and thank you...to ask politely for something...to respect others, especially your elders...I also learned "good etiquette"...how to set a proper table...how a young lady sits properly...the art of writing a thank you note when you receive a gift from someone...(these are just a few of them, but I think you get the idea....I am a baby boomer raised in the 50's...a totally different era than today)

So we fast forward to 2015...and my question in this electronic age...where people don't talk much on the phone anymore (unless your a baby boomer!!)...they type...text...tweet...facebook...

Are good manners and etiquette still important?

I am one of those people who does not own a smart phone...I do have a flip phone, but it is almost always sitting on my table...I rarely have it on me...why? because I do not use it unless I truly have to  if I am traveling or if I want to send a quick text that says "thinking of you" or "sending love"...I do not use it because it feels impersonal to me...I am an old school kind of gal...I still write thank you notes...I still write letters...I still make phone calls...and I still believe that good manners and etiquette are important...

I watch children today as they talk to their parents...sounding more often like a peer...a buddy...a pal...I watch as 10 year olds are still being reminded to say "please" or "thank you"...I watch as a lot of children no longer have chores to do in order to earn the allowance so they can save and purchase that one more video game that they just have to have...or those pricey clothes that allows them to be part of the group...

I watch and wonder...what happened?

Certainly I am all for growth...but electronics seem to be taking over our lives and our children's and grandchildren's lives...before we had cell phones we did not talk on the phone at the table...and yet I see it all the time where people are texting at the table...or playing a game...people talk on their phones in stores (where everyone can hear the one side of their conversation)...they talk and text in the car (even though it is against the law) How many times have you misread or misinterpreted an email because you could not hear the reflection in someone's voice?

Now, I am not saying that cell phones and technology are terrible...because certainly I would not be typing this here so anyone could read it...What I am saying is that I believe their is a lack of manners and etiquette because of them...

All I am saying is come on people....talk to one another...reach out...write a thank you note...engage with one another on a personal level...You just might find that connecting in this way will cause a happiness that you forgot you could have...

So...How do you feel about manners and etiquette?  Are they still important?