People Watching People Who Are People Watching
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Posted by Blake the Megalomaniac (Follow Me)- Blake the Megalomaniac is a graduate of Virginia Tech and now lives the Adams Morgan section of Washington DC. - To see more posts by this author click here |
I don’t know if everyone does this or not; if they do then the whole basis for this post becomes moot. My instincts tell me that most people don’t, so I’ll continue writing. The term people watching shows up on Myspace, Facebook, and Friendster bios from here to Europe. Everyone does it and if you’ve mastered the skill, then you can do it without setting off the sixth sense of the person you’re viewing.
You know the sixth sense I’m speaking; when you feel someone looking at you and your eyes dart over to that person only to catch them looking at you and have them look away, embarrassed.
People watching isn’t always a voyeuristic feat if you think about it. We people watch or person watch when someone is speaking, whether directly to us or in a group setting. Generally, the definition of people watching is watching people when they don’t know though. Lately, and I only say lately because I can’t really put my finger on when I began doing this, I’ve been people watching people who are people watching. Think about it like this: If blogging were people watching then micro-blogging (like twitter) is people watching people who are people watching. Stay with me here.
It’s amusing to people watch when people are picking their nose, dozing off, or otherwise doing something they don’t want anyone to see. It’s even better to see how people react to watching people do those things. For instance, lets say you were at the grocery store and you see a mother with her progeny and that child is acting a fool. The mother being a good parent and disciplinarian snatches the child up, meaning she grabs him by the arm and gives him a stern talking to. Simultaneously, as you see that family feud take place, you switch your focus to another shopper who is also watching this hypothetical unfold only with disgust and outrage on her face. Instantly you see the two schools of thought being displayed here; one is in favor of a little physicality in child rearing and one who isn’t.
People watching people who are people watching allows you to learn even more about someone based on their nonverbal. Don’t be afraid to practice this skill; our power of observation is one of the strongest and most abundant talents we have.
Food for thought,
udothedishes…
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Only fitting that I should bring this up, but the government mastered this technique years ago. It’s called surveillance.
But the best place to practice this is on the Metro. You’ll get burned plenty of times by a quick 6th sense bust, but it’s worth it. It’s a fun game to play.