RSVP?
January 5, 2011 – 8:02 pmI recently read an interesting article (see link below) about the new(ish) phenomenon of people refusing to RSVP for parties, events, etc. Remember the good old days when “evite” first came out? It felt special to get an invitation and at least in my experience, far more people responded to the invites than they do today.
I especially enjoyed this paragraph in the article:
“What’s clear is how hard the R.S.V.P. rubs against the grain of contemporary life. In requesting people to anchor a plan in the distant future of a month hence, you are demanding a kind of navigation that Americans increasingly do not practice. We prefer to remain flexy, solidifying our plans incrementally as the date approaches. Let’s talk tomorrow. I’ll call you when I’m on the road. Cellphones in hand, we microadjust our schedules as they unfold around us. We’re like the air traffic controllers of our own lives.”
I definitely think many people don’t respond because they are microadjusting their schedules every minute. And perhaps it’s also a case of people always looking for something even better and “cooler” to do.
Among the most frustrating aspects of our society becoming more disconnected, all while we become more “connected” virtually, is the lack of providing the common courtesy of an RSVP when asked. And even more frustrating is I don’t see a readily applicable solution.
Let me know what you think:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/opinion/15cooper.html
