Common Courtesy

What has happened to everyone's manners? 

I don't mean the day-to-day "pleases" and "thanks yous" we say to each other in passing.  Or, because we are all so hopelessly Canadian, I am also not referring to the constant need to say "I'm sorry" for absolutely everything we do. 

I'm referring to how we treat each other, friends and strangers alike, as we trudge through our busy lives. 

One of my biggest pet peeves involves going to the mall.  I generally avoid the mall like the plague, and I when I have to go, I try and go alone because I find people are just not that considerate when it comes to parents with young children.  If you're familiar with any mall, you'll know well that every entrance has a bank of double doors -- like 6 options to enter/exit from.  Why is it that people will follow me to the exact same door I'm headed for, watch me struggle to open the door and then attempt to push the stroller through, and then expect me to hold the door for them?  First of all, if I'm struggling with a stroller, you have two options:  go to one of the other 5 doors that are currently not in use, or offer to hold the door open for me.  It'll be much quicker and smoother if you use option 2 (just a hint).  I find the only people that "get it" are parents with other small children...and for the most part, they're not at the mall either.  I recently was in the bank and had the baby in the bucket and the toddler hanging onto my other hand, and a lovely man about my age opened the door for me and said "I know what it's like -- my kids are about the same age as yours".  It was such a small gesture, but it made things so much easier for me, and it made my heart smile that someone had noticed that I needed a bit of help to keep moving. 

I am not so technologically savvy that I live my whole life surrounded with the latest and greatest "toys", but I do like my email and live a lot of my life online.  It's easy.  It's quick.  I can type faster than I can write.  I also come from the working world that has embraced online working so it's what I know. 

What I can't figure out is why so many people haven't figured out that living through email doesn't mean you drop your manners when you push the power button on your computer.  Maybe it's the fact that I come from a business world that expects a response.  When you are conversing with colleagues across the country, they expect you to acknowledge and continue a conversation via email.  So why now is it different?  Is it because what I have to say now just isn't that important?  I'll tell you something, what I had to say then wasn't that important either, but I never felt like I was being ignored.  I do my best to acknowledge emails that are sent to me.  I make mistakes....I think "oh I'll get to it later when I have time" and then days pass and I realize I haven't responded.  It really bothers me when I do that.  If you have asked me a question, I don't want you to think that I don't care.  So if you have asked me for something, and I send it to you, could you please acknowledge that I sent it?  At least then I know you received it. 

Thank you in advance :)