When we were kids, learning polite expressions was important. Our parents taught us to say “thank you” when we received help, and to say “please”when we needed a favor from others. But would you say” thank you” and “please” to a digital(数码的) assistant?

Recently, Amazon announced it had added new features to its smart assistant Alexa. One of the developments-a politeness feature(特点)-draws some parents’ attention. Their children keep forgetting their manners because they have become used to shouting orders at their Echo, a smart speaker similar to Alexa.

When kids ask Alexa to solve a math problem using the word “please” such as “Alexa, please tell me what 5 plus 7 is”Alexa will not only give the correct answer, but also give the following response “Thanks for asking so nicely”.

However, some people believe kids shouldn’t have to thank a machine, as children can tell the difference between machines and humans. But then again, we don’t usually talk aloud to a fridge or an ATM, either.

“I ask Siri to turn on the lights or set an alarm in the same natural language that I use in day-to-day life,” commentator(评论员) Chaim Gartenberg wrote on the website. “It doesn’t matter whether an Echo can hear or understand it-it matters that you say it.”

With the increasing use of AI (artificial intelligence), forming the habit of being polite in everyday life is becoming even more important, as the British research company ChildWise found. In January, it published a report warning that people who become used to cutting courtesies(礼貌的话) and giving orders to digital assistants might become rude when dealing with others.

Traditionally, we can tell how nice people are by watching how they interact with a waiter. In a similar way, even if the AI or digital assistant doesn’t care about it, other people around us are going to experience how we interact with it.

To many students, joining social media “circles” (社交媒体圈) is now more important than making new friends in real life. And it’s easy. If you have a mobile phone, you can get many apps such as Weibo, QQ and WeChat from the Internet.

“I love to read my friends’ information online. I also enjoy news and jokes shared on social media,” said He Xiao, 14, from a middle school in Pengxi. While enjoying these, He Xiao makes himself far away from real life. “I love playing the plane-shooting game on WeChat, but have no interest in playing chess with my classmates,” said He.

Zhao Miaomiao, 15, a student of Grade Nine, said that spending too much time on the phone made a terrible difference to students’ normal lives. Last month, his school had a basketball game, and a student broke his leg. No students thought about giving him help at first. They were just busy sending news about the event online. “I think they need to learn how to do with their real and online lives. The probable danger behind the Internet worries parents and teachers a lot,” said Zhao.

“Many students are happy to tell their interests and personal information to their social media ‘friends’. And this could bring them danger.” said Miss Huang, a teacher from Pengxi. “Be careful. Do not share your personal information without checking it carefully, do not give your real name or post the photos to people you don’t know very well,” said Huang.