Antisocial?

purselova34

purselova34

Member
Jan 15, 2006
1,985
4
#1
I was reading something on another website about small talk is gone. Like for example, when waiting on line for something, you don't talk to the people around you because you're on your cell phone. I was thinking about other things. A lot of shopping is now done online, eliminating more contact. Food can be deliever to your home. You can work from home if you choose. So, do you think due to computers, cell phones, ect. we're becoming more antisocial then we once were as a society? :confused1:
 
#2
Oh, absolutely! I believe that to be soooo true! People are ALWAYS on their cell phones or have their face stuck in their Blackberry or other PDAs so often that small talk has diminished quite a bit.

So, yes. I do believe that people are becoming more and more antisocial. Well, except for my husband. He can strike up a conversation with anyone about anything at any time! LOL! He's very social and loves to talk.
 
#3
print*model said:
Oh, absolutely! I believe that to be soooo true! People are ALWAYS on their cell phones or have their face stuck in their Blackberry or other PDAs so often that small talk has diminished quite a bit.

So, yes. I do believe that people are becoming more and more antisocial. Well, except for my husband. He can strike up a conversation with anyone about anything at any time! LOL! He's very social and loves to talk.
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I like to talk too, but now a days even a smile can turn off some people. :sad: It just seems people are more to themselves and hard to approach if you do want to strike up small talk.
 
#5
It's become so common to ignore people that I now find it weird if someone out of the blue says something to me while waiting in line. Pathetic isn't it?
When I lived in Canada I talked to anyone and everyone....then I moved to CA to a bedroom community and didn't know one single one of my neighbours. Now that I'm in Indiana it's better....people are really friendly and welcomed us to the neighborhood!
But to answer your question....I really think it does make us antisocial. Even with our friends....we're so busy that we'll say "Just email me" or "IM later and we'll talk"
 
#6
whoever said that must not live in the South.
I chat w/ strangers all day, everywhere I go just about.

People ask me my opinion on the flower arrangements they're looking at, or if these pants run small/big . . .
we chat here in the South like we've known you forever!
 
#7
We are definitely more antisocial thanks to all of the gadgets we have like ipods and cell phones. There is a Sociology of the internet because it has had such a large impact on the way our society communicates. I have read debates as to whether communicating via email and non-face to face forms is just as good of a way to fulfill our human needs for contact as say going out to meet for coffee.

America is by far the most individualistic society, and all these new gadgets have made it even easier for us to focus on our own little worlds and ignore what goes on around us. I am perfectly guilty of wearing my ipod when walking downtown or taking the bus, with the sole purpose of keeping people from talking to me (mostly the weird and creepy ones!). It's gotten to the point that not even a phone to your ear or having earphones in will detour some folks though!
 
#8
Oh, definetely. With the advent of evolving technology that helps us become more efficient with our time, face to face time just tapers off. It's ironic how technology helps us become more "available" to others the more impersonal we become.
 
#9
Yes! Whenever someone is friendly or says hello the first thing I say to myself is ....They are not from California! (I am a CA native so I'm not hating on anyone;) )
 
#10
No, I'm just antisocial because I'm antisocial. I've never been one for a lot of small talk. Occasionally I'll chat it up with someone in handbags or makeup randomly, but it's about handbags or makeup. I'm not really that outgoing.
 
#11
Swanky Mama Of Three said:
whoever said that must not live in the South.
I chat w/ strangers all day, everywhere I go just about.

People ask me my opinion on the flower arrangements they're looking at, or if these pants run small/big . . .
we chat here in the South like we've known you forever!
Click to expand...

couldn't have said it better! not a day goes by that i don't chat with strangers in the elevator, waiting in line for coffee, on the campus bus, grocery shopping...all the time. and it never fails to make me smile and think that the world is maybe just a little bit nicer than people give it credit for. it's completely expected, and you're weird if you don't do it here. it's a southern thing. people are friendly.

i was on my building's elevator with a friend that was visiting from another part of the country one time (the visitor had spent very little time in the south). the other guy in the elevator with us started talking to me after i made eye contact with him and smiled (that's also expected, you don't ignore people here). we made idle chit-chat until we all got off the elevator and bid each other a good day. afterward, my friend asked me if i knew the guy, and i of course said no, and my friend looked at me like i was a complete PSYCHO for being friendly! she couldn't imagine that i had never met someone but still made friendly small talk!
 
#14
I think we have become more anti-social since the invention of i-pods and mobile phones etc as they help us pass the time on public transport and journeys so that theres no longer the need for small talk with other people to help pass the time. However, whenever I catch the local bus I still find myself chatting to random strangers at the bus stop, I've had the weirdest conversations with them too - anything from aqua aerobics to carp fishing!
 
#15
In California, people are definitely less likely to engage strangers in small-talk. However, I find it happens here in Chicago all the time! And I love the friendliness!
 
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