Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design/Flickr
Being awkward is part of being a human today.
- Awkward moments are a part of life. But certain awkward situations wouldn't have been possible a few decades ago.
- For example: updating your LinkedIn profile, thereby making your boss suspicious that you're looking for new jobs.
- Etiquette expert Diane Gottsman recommends dealing with the situation, learning from it, and moving on, instead of dwelling.
Awkward moments aren't unique to modern-day life. But there are certain types of awkward situations that previous generations never could have imagined.
Think accidentally liking someone's Instagram photo from five years ago, making it clear that you were social-media stalking them. Or inadvertently sending a mean-spirited text message ... to the person you were talking about. Yikes!
Diane Gottsman, a national etiquette expert, the author of Modern Etiquette for a Better Life, and the founder of The Protocol School of Texas, calls situations like these "oh well moments."
If you accidentally liked someone's old Facebook update, "either unlike it or let it go," she said. If you were tagged in a photo at a friend's birthday party when you were supposed to be at another friend's get-together, "just say, 'I'm sorry. It was difficult for me to tell you I did not want to go.'"
Below, we've listed seven of the most cringeworthy scenarios that could only happen in contemporary life.
Instead of freaking out, Gottsman recommends using each of these experiences as a "lesson learned," so you know what kind of behavior to avoid in the future.