Danny Wallace’s investigation of rudeness

Are you rude?

·         1 in 5 (21%) Brits consider themselves a rude person

·         38% of Brits said that they had been rude to someone in the past seven days, even if only slightly

·         54% of Brits said that someone had been rude to them in the past seven days, even if only slightly

Those polled who said someone had been rude to them in the past seven days were most likely to have been rude to while at work (27%). This was closely followed by:

How are people rude?

Those polled who said someone had been rude to them in the past seven days were most likely to have the person be rude to them by having an ‘attitude’ (47%). Here are the figures in full:

1. Having an ‘attitude’ (47%)

2. Talking down to them (20%)

3. Being passive aggressive (17%)

4. Ignoring them (16%)

5. Shouting at them (13%)

6. Swearing at them (12%)

7. Mumbling something under their breath (12%)

8. Blaming them for something they didn’t do (12%)

9. Calling them something rude (9%)

10. Other (9%)

Those polled who said someone had been rude to them in the past seven days were most likely to react to the person who was rude to them by ignoring them (45%). Here are the figures in full:

1. Ignoring them (45%)

2. Giving them a ‘look’ (20%)

3. Being rude back (15%)

4. Being passive aggressive (9%)

5. Shouting back at them (7%)

6. Trying to respond with a ‘clever’ comeback (7%)

7. Trying to make them feel guilty (7%)

8. Mumbling something under their breath (4%)

9. Other (9%)

Other results

·         Those polled who said someone had been rude to them in the past seven days were most likely to say that the person who was rude to them was between the ages of 35 and 44 years old (25%)

·         Brits said that people are rude to them, on average, twice in an average week Brits said that they are rude to people, on average, once in an average week.

·         Brits said that they are rude to people, on average, once in an average week

·         The last time someone was rude to those polled was most likely to have been between 15:00 and 15:59 (6%)

·         14% of Brits have taken revenge against someone who was rude to them

·         70% of Brits said that if someone in a brand-name shop was rude to them, it would affect their opinion of the brand itself

·         18% of Brits agree that the government should do more to punish rudeness

·         More than a third (35%) of Brits agree that the world is reaching a rudeness crisis point

·         More than half (56%) of Brits have felt that the rudeness of others has affected their mental wellbeing, no matter how briefly
 

Of those polled who agree the world is reaching a rudeness crisis point, 65% think social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) is to blame. Here are the figures in full:

1. Social media – Twitter, Facebook, etc (65%)

2. Celebrity behaviour as seen in gossip columns, etc (57%)

3. Reality TV stars (52%)

4. TV in general (37%)

5. Schooling/education (37%)

6. Footballers (33%)

7. Stressful jobs (32%)

8. Politicians – government cuts, how they come across on TV/radio (26%)

9. Not having to do national service (17%)

10. Other (9%)

·         Only 8% of Brits believe that it is acceptable to wait in excess of one hour for a hotdog, even if that hotdog has been cooked to order.

·         On average, the longest Brits would be willing to wait for a hotdog is 11 mins 94% of Brits think they would be justified in complaining if they had to wait for more than an hour for a hotdog is 11 mins.

·         94% of Brits think they would be justified in complaining if they had to wait for more than an hour for a hotdog.