NY Times writer David Brooks has an article a few weeks ago lamenting the people's refusal to have conversations with strangers on the subway. He thinks people are too insecure to approach strangers with a lively conversation. He thinks this is all causing a loneliness epidemic!
You can read it at
David Brooks, “Why Your Social Life Is Not What It Should Be,” The New York Times, August 25, 2022,
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/opinion/social-life-talk-strangers.html
This was how I responded to Brooks' tweet promoting that article
Yeah, I read the newspaper or my smartphone while riding the bus. Some days, the ride is the only time I can do that because I have tons of things to do when the ride is over. Sometimes I rather be left alone than to have somebody talking to me while on the bus!
Stop expecting everybody to be extroverts! Get over the fact that some people want to be left alone!
Now, if I do see friends on the bus, I'll still greet them, and depending on our moods, we might still chat!
But I'm not going to start a conversation with someone who just wants to be left alone. And when in doubt, then I leave that person alone.
Though if something is happening on the bus, we might say something to each other. But other than that, I'll respect the other person's personal space as much as possible.
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And in this day and age, more people are expressing their rights to be introverted. There is less shame about being introverted now as compared to the past. People are now more likely to admit they LOVE spending some time alone.
But people like David Brooks treat that as some kind of emergency. It isn't.
I love spending time alone, and if David Brooks don't like it, then too bad!
