Poll: Everyday civility declining in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, May 11 (UPI) -- Residents of Utah are growing increasingly concerned that everyday civility is in decline, a poll indicated.

The Deseret Morning News said Sunday a poll it conducted with KSL-TV indicated most Utah residents believe civility in their state has declined during the past decade.

The Dan Jones & Associates survey of an unspecified number of people found that 67 percent of respondents said civility had declined, while 11 percent said civility had improved in Utah.

When asked in what ways civility declined, more than 90 percent of those who saw a problem cited cell-phone use, language and driving as the most troublesome violations of civility.

The Morning News said other problem areas included table manners, dress, e-mails and customer service.

P.M. Forni of Johns Hopkins University said such problems are rarely addressed in normal society.

"People, in general, in surveys see the problem but very seldom do they see themselves as part of the problem," said Forni, who heads up the university's Civility Project.