Bad Manners 1 - Table Manners

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/healthy-living/virginia-ironsides-dilemmas-is-using-a-mobile-phone-during-dinner-bad-manners-878557.html



The article above talks about people using their mobile phone whilst dining, and if reading whilst eating is bad manners, then texting etc, should be too.

What might be considered bad manners in one country may be acceptable in another, and infact acceptable in one house, might not be acceptable in the house next door.

So are bad table manners purely subjective, or can we say that some behaviours are unacceptable no matter what society you belong to?

Getting up from the table without first excusing yourself?
Chewing your food with your mouth open?
Sitting properly?

I guess in a culture where so many people either eat alone or watching tv, all of the above lose their meaning, as manners only seem to matter when someone else is on the receiving end of them, but I say that whether or not people are present, we should still maintain a level of behaviour that suggests we are a civilised society.