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Not every language has a word for saying “thank you,” but the vast majority of societies have rules of politesse, which are codes that allow for peaceful cohabitation. In the absence of a specific formula, each person expresses his/her gratitude to the other with gestures, sign language, or gifts. An expression of thanks has good effects upon its recipient; it can also be just as beneficial for the person who is showing gratitude. However, with the spread of communications technologies, especially smartphones, we see that statements of “thanks,” along with salutations, are being effaced. People are closing themselves off in “bubbles,” and the result is that the basic rules of good manners are being forgotten. A slight movement of the head is all that is needed to order a baguette; people can remain glued to their smartphones while doing this. In a society in which people are experiencing ever greater stress and are having to concentrate more and more, expressions of gratitude are being reduced to nothing more than a murmur. This programmed loss of giving thanks corresponds to a selective urbanity that reveals new forms of segregation.