A poll by the Food Network UK (who knew chefs cared so much about manners?) revealed that ‘thanks’ is increasingly being replaced with less formal expressions of gratitude.
It seems millions the world over are now opting instead to offer the more casual ‘cheers’. And while the average person will still choose to use ‘thank you’ nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three replaces it with ‘cheers’ or ‘ta’.
One in 20 says ‘nice one’, while younger generations are more likely to offer ‘cool’.
‘Merci’, ‘fab’ and ‘much appreciated’ also emerge as popular alternatives in the poll.
One in 20 questioned in the poll thought a formal ‘thank you’ was not needed in everyday conversation.
Four in ten said their use of thank you was habit, while a rude fifth would avoid saying it when they knew they should, at least twice a day.
While many are happy to say thank you via text or email, six out of ten thought this was no easier than saying it in person.
People also aren’t as gracious as they once were, it would appear. A third said they still sent handwritten thank you notes, but 45 per cent admitted it had been more than six months since they bothered to send one.
But before you removing graditude from your vocal repertoire completely, consider that, as a wise man once said, manners cost nothing. Cheers for reading.
