The Anonymity of Technology = poor manners!

I recently started my own business. And in this business I am in contact with many different types of people, from many different walks of life. Most communication is via the internet. It has been an adventure and an eye opener, and I am dismayed at what I have seen.
We all depend heavily on our technology: iPhones, iPads, BlackBerrys, instant messaging, blogs, forums, emails, texting, Facebook, Twitter...to stay connected. But I despair that the short-hand and ease of this "connectedness" has actually led to us disengaging from our manners!
We used to have to call someone on the phone, or see them in person or write a letter, but it seems now that any little complaint, no matter how trivial, has become the fodder for abusive emails, texts and comments on a Tweet, Facebook or blog. And the anonymity that the internet affords us, allows us to "disconnect" from our basic human decency and sense of propriety.

Where have our manners gone??
Technology allows us to say (or write, really) anything we want without fear of reprisal. We can write nasty comments, make rude suggestions, ask probing questions or scold someone tirelessly via an email or online comment, when, truth be told, we would NEVER have the "guts" to say these things to that person, personally!
I sometimes wonder if this phenomenon of our technological age is because of the "instantness" of our communications. Perhaps because we can "reach out and touch someone" so quickly and easily, we often bypass the thought process that would have preceeded a communication back in the day of phone calls and written letters.
A word to wise would be: think about what you are going to say – before you tweet, blog, email it and consider whether you would be willing to say these things in person. And if the answer is no: hit delete!