QHow do you handle people whorush ahead of you with three

weeks’ groceries in a busy super-market queue? This happens to mepretty often and I don’t know whatto do. — A Regular Teen

A. Hi, to deal with such nuisance, youneed to be street-smart. Here are sometips that will hopefully help.

■ PPooiinntt iitt oouutt:: Make sure you do say tothe queue breaker something like, “Theend of the line is over there, not at thefront.” This is a better way than shout-ing, “Just get back there”. ■ IIff tthhee qquueeuuee bbrreeaakkeerr ddooeessnn’’tt lliisstteenn:The world has some people who will notdo the right thing even after beingshamed. In that case, please complainto the cashier, and I am sure other peo-ple in the queue will also support you. By SUNAIINAA A HAK, etiquette guide

ExpertSPEAK

MANNER WISE

Is ‘OK’ inemail rude?

When your friend or studycoordinator replies to along email with just ‘OK.’,especially with just a ‘k,’

many, especially young people, share areaction – that’s kind of rude. Whilefor many people, OK is just OK – nothing more or less, others assumethe message is imbued with a sense ofcurtness. What is it about the word thatmakes it so contentious?

➤ According to Gretchen McCulloch, aninternet linguist and author of the book‘Because Internet’, OK isn’t inherently rude,but is subject to the length of an email.“Anything that’s shorter can sound curter, anythingthat’s longer can sound more polite,” says McCulloch.

➤ There’s also a difference between conversational

etiquette over email and talking face-to-face. Our facial expressions and gestures

help the person we’re talking to figureout how rude or friendly we are being.

➤ That’s why, McCulloch argues, many of uspad it with qualifiers like ‘OK, sounds good!’ or

‘OK, cool’. “Having two things there, it makes it seem as ifyou have gone through a bit of an extra effort, and it’s thatextra effort that makes something more polite,” she adds.

Earth – our home –deserves respect and courtesybut gets very little of it. Be polite toyour surroundings, flora and fauna and towildlife, too, to become better citizens of the planet

You keep your homespick and span, are re-spectful to your class-mates and par-ents but some-

times you don’t think twiceabout throwing your chipswrapper on a hillside picnicwhen no one is watching.Well, that’s being ‘rude’ tothe environment. Be kind tothe Earth by following thesesimple rules.

Don’t call eco-warriorssnooty or superficial Teen eco-warrior GretaThunberg was recently trolledby many for her stance onenvironment issues. You mayor may not agree with anyone’s views but do not trollthem or use abusive languagefor them in real or onlineworld. Respect their contribu-tion to the environment.

➤ Take off yourshoes at theentrance ofyour house– to keeptoxins, dustand dirt fromentering yourhome. It’salso arespectfulthing to do for your home

Use the proper bin, alwaysAlways keep in mind that each material

has a proper bin. Biodegradablewaste should go in the bin

meant for it. Ditto for others.There is a reason why there areseparate bins, so, do follow thesebasic rules. It’s courtesy to your surroundings and also meansbeing respectful to environment.

Use water and energy mindfullyNatural resources are beingconsumed at an alarmingrate. In our daily life, weshould optimise them inorder to cut the carbon foot-print and reduce the relatedcosts. We should consumeonly what we really need; athome, in the school, andeven in other public placeslike cafes, airports, etc.

Littering is disrespectful Littering is a show of disrespectfor the places we live in and it isbad for the environment. Makesure you dispose off your trash indesignated trash cans and if youdon’t see one, hold on to yourtrash until you do. When youvisit places for hiking and pic-nic, carry your own small binbag and keep all the trash in itand dispose it when you areback to places with proper bin.

Opt for ethical consumerismDo not purchase products made non-ethically,meaning ones that exploit animals, humans, environment. Try to stay away from clothes and accessories made of animal fur, crocodile skin, etc.

IT’S TIME FORENVIRONMENTETIQUETTE

QUICK GUIDE➤ Clean home surfaceswith vinegar instead ofchemical cleaning agent➤ Use paper, not plastic➤ Respect eco-warriors➤ Compost kitchen waste➤ Cancel the junk mail

Choose local economiesand organic products

Buying from farmers’ market oreven producing your own food

is an environment friendly wayto reduce your carbon footprint

and also to get fresh and good qualityproducts. Be an urban farmer by growing veggieslike tomato, basil, mint, rosemary, coriander and

dill on a patch of land that you have oreven in pots on your windowsill. It

will also connect you more tonature and earth.

➤ Plant saplings in yourarea and complain tolocal authorities whenyou notice a tree/treesbeing cut or animalsbeing ill-treated or

physically abused inyour locality

Learn the art of recycling Home to millions of speciesincluding humans, Earth is theonly place in the universe wherelife is known to exist. Opting forbiodegradable is a way to respect our planet, and so isrecycling. Learn all about it and have reuse and recycleas a way of life – it will soon become a habit.

Donate to rebuilddestroyed eco-systems Natural disasters from earthquaketo tsunami and storms can wreakhavoc on environment. Donate if

you can for rebuilding eco-systems affected by disas-ters. Donating for a cause makes people feel worthy.

NETIQUETTE ONLINE UNIVERSE

DECODING THE NUANCES OF OK

Asdifferent gener-

ations begin to occu-py the same spaces (orcyberspace), disagree-

ment on linguistic etiquette isinevitable

Social media, teensand eating disorders

Anew study has foundthat teens who spend alot of time on social me-dia apps like Snapchat

and Instagram are a lot more like-ly to develop eating disorders.Find out more about the findingthat has scientific backing too.

The study says...“Social media is leading youngadolescent girls and boys down aworrying path towards develop-ing body image issues and eatingdisorder behaviours, even thoughthey are smartphone savvy”, stat-ed the study published in the ‘In-ternational Journal of Eating

Disorders’. The studywas also able to find that apps likeInstagram/Snapchat that focusedstrongly on image posting andviewing options were used themost and also held the most riskwhen it came to influencing teens.

How it was conducted● For the study, the researchersconducted a survey with a groupof teenage ‘middle school’adolescents. These teens wereasked about their use of apps likeInstagram, Facebook, Tumblr andSnapchat.● It was found that eating behav-iour disorders were reported by

nearly 51.7 per cent of girls, and45 per cent of the boys. Most ofthem had started opting for strictexercise and were even skippingmeals so as to stay “in shape”.● It was also found that thoughmore than half of the kids werebelow 13 years of age, nearly 75.4per cent of girls and 69.9 per centof boys had at least one social media account, the most commonone being Instagram.● A senior psychologist also stated that the more social mediaaccounts these kids had, the high-er their chances were of devel-oping disorders relating to eatinghabits and body image. TNN

Anew

study hasfound a

strong linkbetween eating

disorders in tweens andteens and social media use.

Find out all about it

Source: Compiled by PALLAVI SHANKAR

06 “Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy.”

RALPH WALDO EMERSON, POET POLISH YOUR SKILLS

Pay attentionAs you are introduced to your newclassmates, pay close attention toeach person’s name. You will proba-bly form an impression of each person, so mentally associate thename with something that will helpyou remember the name.

Repeat the name afterbeing introduced

As soon as the other person’s nameis said, look him or her in the eye andrepeat it in the most organic way

possible. Example: “It’s really nice tomeet you, Riya,” or “I look forward toworking with you, Aryan,” are exam-ples of how you can do this. If theperson’s name is unusual, you mighteven comment on its uniqueness.Continue saying the person’s name inyour mind and try to use it oncemore in conversation.

Jot it downAs soon as you get to your desk, writedown the names you remember. Youmay also want to write down theirhobbies or things like if someone is

the captain of the soccer team or isthe most chatty person in the class.

If you are confused, ask again

As soon as you realise you can’tremember a person’s name, askagain. Doing this early is better thanwaiting until you’ve been there fortwo months. People understand andcooperate if a new student is takingsome time to remember names. Itmay become offensive later if youcan’t remember names after spend-ing six months in the school. TEAM NIE

How toremembernamesWhen you join a new school or

a class, your classmates willappreciate if you can recall

their names. It will help you winfriends and you will come across assomeone who cares for people aroundthem. Here are some tips to help youremember names:

LIFE SKILLS