We're losing social skills, the human interaction skills, how to read a person's mood, to read their body language, how to be patient until the moment is right to make or press a point. Too much exclusive use of electronic information dehumanises what is a very, very important part of community life and living together. - Vincent Nichols
I am a PEOPLE WATCHER... are YOU?
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Stepping into the general chat room of our Steemit Bloggers server is normally VERY entertaining to say the least – and today was one of “those days” that got, well… let’s just say AMUSING! Haha! One of our members @raymondspeaks had stepped into the general chat room and announced that through my fb group announcement, he had now found me on Facebook… but he made the “mistake” of saying something along the lines of “I have been snooping” hahaha – and well, that was the beginning of his roasting lol! In fact, it was so much fun and laughs that I even suggested we open a roasting channel lol!
But, in and amongst the laughs and brutal remarks haha – he made mention of two things… first being that a photo tells a thousand stories, and second that this is often how he gauges people. Naturally we all had a good dig at him for that statement too haha – but the essence of what he said was completely SPOT ON!
I have ALWAYS been a “people watcher”…
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Ok guys; let’s keep it out of the gutter please lol! Observing people is something that has always played a pivotal role in my life in terms of “understanding” others. There is MUCH to be learned about a person through simple, attentive observation. I can recall the days, many years ago when I used to work in a suburb about 15 minutes from home and whilst most people detest the end of day traffic –
moving one inch per minute… I actually quite enjoyed it.
I loved watching the people around me going about their ‘usual’ business, as I inched my way home. Analysing their movements, engagement, conversation, clothing, hairstyles, colour choices… EVERYTHING. It was like a real life movie. There were SO many unintentional stories being told RIGHT there - So many lives, so many minds and hearts, tragedies, joys, challenges and celebrations alike.
It is through observation like this that I have been able to find a deeper understanding of people as individuals and photos play a huge part in that! – Especially when you can see the persons eyes in the photo. EYES, to me are like the map to the “inner person”. Yes, we have ALL heard the rather cliché quote “eyes are the windows to the soul” - but the fact of the matter is, it’s SO TRUE!
Eyes, don’t lie! Well, let me rephrase that… the person operating them may lie but if you look closely enough, you will quickly discover that their eyes are in fact VERY bad liars! ;)
Eyes are the one part of the human physical make-up that we cannot really “disguise” - no matter our wishes, intentions or hopeful cover up’s - our eyes wear no mask. They are, to my mind anyway – the most ACCURATE path to the person underneath the “façade”. And photos are a fantastic way to study them, because they cannot dodge, they cannot evade – they are stuck, still and eternally present in that particular moment of time, whatever it was.
In my field of expertise – Graphic Design, which I have recently “retired” from (lol @deadsparrow – gloat #2 haha) it was precisely this art of studying people, that allowed me to be able deliver what the client wanted FIRST time around, without being given much of a brief. Yes, I have been in the field for way too long, so experience DID play a role in that, but for the most part it was my assessment of the individual that brought it all together.
When meeting a client, I would observe EVERYTHING about them. What they were wearing - was it bold or reserved? Was it modern or classic? How did they speak and carry themselves? – were they loud or quiet? What colours did they like? Shapes? What did their handwriting look like? -Was it neat or messy? ALL of these aspects made up a “whole” for me and I was then able to produce visual content that got them excited in round one!
It is an EXCEPTIONALLY useful skill and tool. Not only for business, but for life in general!
If people in general were all a little more attentive to the “details” of others, we would most likely develop a better understanding of them as individuals. We would be able to see passed the icing that so many people sport these days, giving us an acute insider’s view of what is really going on – and this breeds compassion and empathy amongst a million other beneficial things… ;)
People need realness, reality. People can sense when someone is being pretentious or fake. It's because you feel it; you see it in someone's body language. - Afrojack
Until next time...
Much Love from Cape Town, South Africa xxx
First off, bummer that I missed the roast! 😆
And no big surprise that you're a people watcher, given what Judy Blume has to say about it...
hahahaha!!! That works for me! :D
And I have no doubt that we will have another roasting soon lol!
True dat! LOL!
Much I could possibly say here... but yes, it seems like people watching is becoming a lost art within social contexts.
I grew up in Europe where "sidewalk cafe culture" was very strong when I was a kid... and "watching the world go by" was a thing. And that was OK, it was not "rude staring."
But people watching is also a survival skill, especially for those who might have grown up in abusive situations... you learn to look for little "tells" in how people move, look at you, talk and carry themselves... and sometimes they might save your arse.
I wasn't there during the Discord chat, but Raymond is precisely right. Absent the physicality of someone where we can actually observe their movement and body language "creeping on someone's Facebook" is the closest thing we have to get a sense of a person's world and even personality. In group photos, are they quietly in the back, or laughing in the front? Or are they ALWAYS the person behind the camera? Do they share photos of their dog, or themselves and their dog? And so on, and so on.
Of course, with social media like Facebook and Instagram we have to remain mindful of the fact that people tend to share only the "highlight reels" of their lives, not all the dirt.
That is SO true and to be honest I had not even thought of it from that perspective.
Now THAT is true right there... not unlike this... hehehehe
Image Credit
It's truly a lost art. Resteemed.
It sure is! Thank you for the support @jeffcomeau - much appreciated :)
I am absolutely a people watcher @jaynie For some that sounds creepy and judgemental but for me it’s a genuine way to understand a person. Actions speak volumes compared to words. I also believe that eyes are a way to the soul. I do believe though that sometimes it can unintentionally lead to negative judgement because although we can get a good sense about a person we truly don’t know what they are going through so we ought to be careful! 😉
I suppose it is what we do with the "insight received" that counts really speaking... using it to cast judgement most certainly would not be the wisest decision.
This is VERY true!
Thank you for the lovely comment! Take care :)
I am a sensitive person. I wrote about this just yesterday. After the death of my dad, my sensitivity heightened. I could sense people's mood and countenance through their actions, words, texts, face and afar. I am also a people watcher. I care more about feelings and moods. I take note of tiny details and observe things easily.
I quite enjoy both :)
Yaaaaay! I quite enjoy you.
I'm a people watcher, but I don't like to be watched 😉
hahaha I think most of us would agree with that... lol (mostly anyway... there are always circumstantial exceptions hehehe)
I’m a people watcher too! Many times, in parties, meetings or other places the people ak me if I’m ok, or if I’m bored. The don’t understand that I LOVE to watch people. I make my own movies in my mind with what I see. Thank you for share that
hahaha!!! I get that too!!! lol :D
Thanks @jaynie . I remember 30 years when my grandfather was in his 80s. He would just love to go to the Mall and sit and just watch people go by. He'd do it all day.
My mom is kind of that way and I too find I enjoy watching people as well :)
Nice post
It is an awesome pastime :D
Yep! I agree with all that you have said there :)
People watching is something my grandmother taught me. I still do it to this day.
Boy do I miss our evening walks observing the strange folks of the town.
Sounds to me like it was time well spent together @blaze312 :)
Well said.
Personally I mutated into an FBI agent decades ago, and old habits die hard.
In this moment I am just trying to pretend that I am on a long deserved vacation, or even retired from all that pondering, just me and my coffee, sunset and donuts, and that I just do Steemit for shits and giggles....
Have a wonderful day.
hahahaha!!! Love your humour :) I like the way you think! hehe
Paying attention to the little things.. something that I've often times overlooked, and certainly something that I am working on right now! Great observational skills @jaynie, incredibly amusing!!
Glad you enjoyed it @aaronmcheong :)
@jaynie ofcourse you know i am, i miss my paddies @steemitbloggers this days am busier and i miss you too. Its one big family over there.
It sure is :)
Thanks for this story writing providing.... i appreciate this blog...best of luck
Thank you dear.
Your capability of watching, observing and reading people's movement and their
intentions proves that you posses the qualities of a true leader. Your mentorship
spirit is a gifted one. I am really proud of you. @jaynie.
Thank you very much @emmanuelacheamp that means a lot to me xxx
I had been a people watcher, and I could just sense the things people will say or do in different condition maybe cause I was an introvert. But when I grew up it started having a grey effect on my brain, I started judging people which I never wanted to do! I still fight that evil every day :(
I am sorry to hear that @tanishqyeverma but perhaps even the expression of that is the start of changing that?
as some friend said before i'm people watcher but i don't to be watched hahah
lol! ;)
The dialog between you two made me laugh :)
If i come to main subject, i have a problem with observing people.
Since i was a child i was too observant and making people uncomfortable. And it didn't change.
I still can't help observing deeply and try to understand them. But i figured out the more i observe them, more i started to judge them reluctantly. And i hate to judge people but as i said i can't help it.
For example, i see a woman on the street trying to fix her hair or looking at herself through a window of a shop, i just think like "she is insecure". I know this is disgusting but i started to make deductions.
Maybe i watched Sherlock too much :)
Observing people, sadly, has a negative effect in my life. I started to look away to avoid judgements and keep loving them :)
You found a weak spot of me and made me write this long comment. Thanks for sharing.
hahaha perhaps :P
Nah, I hear what you are saying... and I believe that each individual must do what works for them... you know... for me, I have learnt that when observing people I make sure I am aware of the "place" that I am observing them from and I make sure it is one of love, compassion and understanding. Having this approach, I find - changes what you end up "seeing"
Thanks for the lovely comment :)
As somebody who meets a lot of different people daily, I have to. I absutely agree with you , you could tell so much about somebody just by the way they look at you. Both sense warmth and cold in their eyes.
Precisely!!!
observer? I may be the person but also accept observed and supervised lol
Hi @jaynie......ahhh your posts are so lovely! I have decided to reach out to those I follow to just send a heartfelt follow up. You make it easy with your beautiful pictures and unique posts to do so...as always! Thank you again for your time and great work! You do such an awesome job! How's the Cape? Haven't been back home to SA in a couple of years.
What a lovely thing to say @soulsavers thank you! Cape Town is wonderful thank you - aside from the fact that we are about run out of water...lol
Really true, eyes never lie because you can change and control your facial expressions but we cannot change the vision of our eyes, because eyes are the mirror. And yes it's really important to do the more human conversations instead of more virtual conversations, because that leads the development of one's personality. Thanks for sharing.
Have a great day and stay blessed.
Spot on @chireerocks - as ALWAYS you have hit the nail on the head ;)
Thank you. 🙂
I'm a mind watcher. I watch my own mind. It's a lot of fun. Use the headspace app for this to perform it in a safe and correct manner.
And what goes on in that banana brain hey @amarbir :P hehehe
Bananas and workout and stuff you don't want to see. Have a nice day.
Hi steemers..... 'People watching'.... It involves picking up on idiosyncrasies to try to guess at another person's story. This includes speech in action, relationship interactions, body language, expressions, clothing and activities. Eavesdropping may accompany the activity, though is not required. For some people it is considered a hobby, but for many others it is a subconscious activity they partake in everyday without even realizing. People watching is not to be confused with naturalistic observation. Naturalistic observation is used for scientific purposes, whereas people watching is a casual activity, used for relaxation or inspiration for characters or characters' mannerisms in their own creative works. It should also not be confused with street photography; while the street photographer necessarily does people watching, he or she does so for the purpose of taking photographs of the people for art and documentary purposes.
My conclusion is that Weather you judge people or not they will always judge you. @jaynie nice write up, i love it... Keep it up and explore steemers more
This post has received gratitude of 3.79 % from @appreciator thanks to: @jaynie.
in fact we are losing our patience, every one wants shortcut ways,
I love watching people too. That is why I wondered why you upvoted and removed the upvote here
https://steemit.com/curie/@stbrians/dictations-end-result-is-spelling-perfection-ride-with-me-on-the-bandwagon
Doubt that was intentional @stbrians :) as it doesn't even ring a bell in my mind.... probably just doing too many things at once.