I couldn’t do just one. These are the biggest pet peeves of mine and my takes on them. Thanks to Nerd Girl Thoughts for coming up with this group project.
Telling people to smile is rude.
This attempt at kindness falls short. Telling someone to smile is like saying, “I don’t like your face.” It’s also ignoring the fact that they may be having a bad day, and it’s okay for their face to express that. If you’re like me, you might be overstimulated by the blaring music and congested aisles—doing everything you can to manage not flipping out. If I have to also worry about making my face look a certain way, I’m going to lose it. And then nobody is going to be smiling.
Ignoring people who talk to me while my headphones are on is not only appropriate—it’s the responsible thing to do.
I get it. Some people think they’re more important than everybody else. Thing is, nobody else agrees. I have no choice but to ignore people in this case. They have to be trained up for all the other headphone lovers out there. If I start letting people make small talk to me with my headphones on, they’re going to think it’s okay to do that to the next person, and they might be on their last nerve and beat the crap out of them. It’s really my duty to society as a whole to look them dead in the eye and walk away.
If I’m approached by someone with a phone in their hand—I’m immediately not interested in them.
I don’t mean literally. Just holding it is one thing, though I think it’s more respectful to put it away. What I’m talking about is looking back and forth between me and the screen. I’m not saying I’ll dislike them or couldn’t get to know them and be friends, but I’m not going to be actively pursuing friendship. I’m worth more than part of someone’s attention, and so are they. Whatever is on the phone will be there later, but I won’t be because I’m not hanging around to be a third wheel to a rectangle.