Social Contact
Wednesday, August 31st, 2005Perhaps because I’m a guy, but I’ve never really noticed the dangers of eye-contact (or really contact in a more generalized sense). However, I should qualify that with the fact that it is slightly awkward for me anyway to make direct eye contact and contact with new people in general.
I notice the isolation you mention even here on campus with people desperately looking at some terribly uninteresting crack to avoid acknowledging the person passing by. And then you notice it, and you also find a terribly unfascinating splotch on the sidewalk and there becomes a tangible “field of awkwardness” between you two and you both manage to dart glances at each other at the same time (because while you don’t want to look directly at them, you still are curious to see what they look like) making things even more uncomfortable, mounting until you just pass each other (I dunno, expecting the other person to suddenly pull out a sword or something at you), after which you both breathe a sigh of relief.