Whatever happened to personal space?

Channizard

Channizard

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So I sitting in the hot tub/whirl pool, at the pool and there's only one other person there, a semi old guy. I sit at the other end of the whirl pool, cause I don't really like sitting next to strangers. Then this guy decides to move over onto the same side as me, just a couple feet away. So I turn and face the other way, avoiding eye contact which is always awkward.

Then he decides to move again, this time on the side that I'm facing so he's directly in front of me. :rage:

I turn away, AGAIN and look to find that some old lady and two kids have just decided to take the area RIGHT next to me. Ugh. JUST GO AWAY PLS

This also happens a lot in the change room. When you see a locker with a lock on it, you'd maybe think "Oh, somebodies there, and I might bump into them.. so I'll move a few lockers away to avoid getting in the way." But no. Some of these people decide to either go right next to my locker, or in the locker right underneath... Sure it's maybe a slim chance to encounter the person at the same time... BUT IT ALWAYS HAPPENS.

And there aren't any normal people going to the gym during the day cause most of them are at work, so I have to move several lockers down while there's this old lady with her wrinkly titties right in front of my locker. And if I ask them to move or say excuse me, they look at me as if I'm crazy that I should be in the same area as they. And no, it's never my fault because I always check around to ensure that there are empty lockers surrounding mine before I put my shit in it.

Is anybody else bothered by how personal space these days is far less personal than it used to be? =/
 
Personal Space... I fucking miss it. -__-

It really sucks when you're holding seats for some friends in a theater, and some jack ass wants to sit right next to you, despite there being about 4 empty seats downward. Then they get all pissy when you say you're saving them. :ffs:

Also, it really fucking sucks when you're in the park alone, sitting down, just thinking, and some cockwaffle walks up to you and starts talking to you. Who are you? Why do I care about the weather? No, it's not fucking nice. Leave me alone.

Where did this sudden trend where people just walk up to you at random and start trying to get close start? Shit sucks, bro. -__-
 
I normaly don't have to deal with this issue. I normally don't sit in one spot for long while at parks. And the isue of people being next to me in the gym wasn't much of a problem either, even in the locker room really. Maybe i just give off a vibe that keeps most peopel away. That;d be sweet.
 
I know exactly what you mean, Rince. D; Especially the park thing. Me and my bf went to a park at night, trying to have a romantical meeting.. and maybe within the first 10 mins of being there some old guy on a motorized scooter thing rolls up, and sits with us for about 45 mins. 45 FUCKING MINUTES :rage:

Clearly he did not get the vibe to back off when we would stay silent, unsure of what to say in the conversation for several minutes at a time. You'd think people could take a hint but apparently not anymore.
 
Oh dear god yes personal space is a must have for me :rage:


I hate it when strangers are like, next to you watching you it's like gtfo already D=

I just don't really feel comfortable being surrounded by a stranger idunno it's awkward to me. =/ So I do try to stay away or bring some friends with me when I go out and do something.


I can relate to the theater thing, it's a pain in the arse :rage:


I'm not like claustrophobic or anything but just the thought of some stranger all up on you... -shivers-
 
I actually have all the personal space I want. I never had this sort of problem where people would approach me in the most inconvenient time (It happens that I'm not exactly the "approachable type", if you know what I mean). It pertains largely on the fact that I have the good sense of judgment to avoid crowds :wacky:. I also tend to not go out during rush hours and weekends. I'm pretty sure this will change in the future but for now I'm savoring all the solidarity I can have.
 
Happens to me on the bus sometimes. It frustrates me as I do want to have my own space. Guess its some werid secruity thing with some people. They feel safer or more protected when someones close. But man, not too close. It specially pisses me off when there are plenty of places these people can sit, but the seat next to you seems better!
 
public.

when i get on a bus i dont give a shit who i sit next to as long as i have room for my legs. i pay to get on i want a seat. i understand other people are exactly the same. if there are other seats so what? its public transport. smelly people should stay off busses though.

as for other things well thats just life. other people are going about their lives while you want to have your private moment. if you want privacy go home. its hardly reasonable to expect a stranger to sacrifice their own comfort for you (aka another stranger) unless youre talking about extreme cases like...someone sitting next to you on a bus and masturbating.

its a petty complaint. of course we'd all like our own seat on the bus with no one beside us or our own park bench but other people have lives too, usually if you feel theyre invading your "personal space" in a public place by living their life then thats your problem. unless ofc its an extreme case which none of these are.
 
Jimmeh said:
as for other things well thats just life. other people are going about their lives while you want to have your private moment. if you want privacy go home. its hardly reasonable to expect a stranger to sacrifice their own comfort for you (aka another stranger) unless youre talking about extreme cases like...someone sitting next to you on a bus and masturbating.

its a petty complaint. of course we'd all like our own seat on the bus with no one beside us or our own park bench but other people have lives too, usually if you feel theyre invading your "personal space" in a public place by living their life then thats your problem. unless ofc its an extreme case which none of these are.
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This is a good point. The world's not exactly big enough anymore for most of us to live private lives outside of our own homes. People throughout history had way too many babies and now we're stuck living in little boxes as a result; we get excited about one tree in a park when most of the world used to be as wild and vast as some of the national parks we have out in the western U.S., sans the roads and tourists. And you used to be able to travel for days on your own through pretty much anywhere without seeing another person. Now that would only happen if you got launched out into space by yourself, and according to some people even that is iffy. I'm not saying I dislike personal space; I often feel quite antisocial compared to most people and I would love it if people in public places stayed out of my face most of the time. However, there are some people who are naturally very friendly, and feel like if they don't say hello to everyone they encounter that they are being rude. And if that's the way they were raised, or the way they see the world, then you can't really fault them for that.
 
I don't ever take the bus, so I can't quite relate on that, but Jimmeh this is a srs isssue. There are old women in the changing rooms with saggy titties right in my face, who believe it's better to be in my face than to fucking move two feet to the left. And should I move, they follow with their awkward shuffle. Go away plox. -__-
 
I make it a point to not leave my house as often as possible so I don't really have to worry about people invading my space. I'm a solitary person so no one really gets physically close enough to me to bother me. Prevention works best. You don't need burn ointment if you don't go near flames. My friends know how I am. But I'm aquainted with someone who doesn't know the meaning of "I wanna be alone." The dude constantly goes over to his "friends" houses and just latches on to them like some kind of attention leech. It's kinda disgusting. It's kinda funny because the people he mostly hangs out with have all gone away, either on vacation or in the military and I'm just kinda curious how his mind is handling that little dilemma. I'm aware of how cruel that sounds but I really don't care because he gets on my damn nerves. I was friends with him until I realized he was doing that shit to me. It's kinda like having a dog try to hump your leg except it's my free time being fucked and not my shin. But, I took care of the issue.
 
This is exactly why i tend to avoid being in pubic places for too long, someone ALWAYS ALWAYS bothers me or gets too damn close. Hello personal space wanker?


"What's that?"


I stopped going to the gym for that reason, amongst other places. People just get too close, that and if they haven't bathed when they get close is even worse :sick:
 
Jimmeh said:
public.

when i get on a bus i dont give a shit who i sit next to as long as i have room for my legs. i pay to get on i want a seat. i understand other people are exactly the same. if there are other seats so what? its public transport. smelly people should stay off busses though.

as for other things well thats just life. other people are going about their lives while you want to have your private moment. if you want privacy go home. its hardly reasonable to expect a stranger to sacrifice their own comfort for you (aka another stranger) unless youre talking about extreme cases like...someone sitting next to you on a bus and masturbating.

its a petty complaint. of course we'd all like our own seat on the bus with no one beside us or our own park bench but other people have lives too, usually if you feel theyre invading your "personal space" in a public place by living their life then thats your problem. unless ofc its an extreme case which none of these are.
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What he said.
AS great as it would be its not alweyas gunna happen. I cant say much without it looking like i copied jimmer.
I feel for you with the gym story though channy.
I remember when i was at the gym once and there was some guy in a towel like 10ft away from me, in the locker room of course. He then dropped is towel and started checking himself out in the mirror. It was vile.
My solution was to turn the other way.
 
Jimmeh said:
public.

when i get on a bus i dont give a shit who i sit next to as long as i have room for my legs. i pay to get on i want a seat. i understand other people are exactly the same. if there are other seats so what? its public transport. smelly people should stay off busses though.

as for other things well thats just life. other people are going about their lives while you want to have your private moment. if you want privacy go home. its hardly reasonable to expect a stranger to sacrifice their own comfort for you (aka another stranger) unless youre talking about extreme cases like...someone sitting next to you on a bus and masturbating.

its a petty complaint. of course we'd all like our own seat on the bus with no one beside us or our own park bench but other people have lives too, usually if you feel theyre invading your "personal space" in a public place by living their life then thats your problem. unless ofc its an extreme case which none of these are.
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Well said.

Also if you want personal space, you just have to be assertive. In my experience, people ARE usually quite accommodating if you just talk to them. Sure some people are dickheads no matter what you do, but hey, at least you gave it a shot.
 
Yeah as Jimmeh said, life is life. People are people. They're going to be everywhere, so you might as well get used to it. That said, I'm a quiet solitary creature by nature but I'm aware that when I sit down in a public area, some stranger will sit next to me. Whether I'm at the park or on a bus or on a train ('specially in New York where there's around 2 million people or more), someone will grab a vacant spot near me. It doesn't bother me unless they have some serious BO or they're obnoxious to the point that I feel like kindly reprimanding them.

Other than that, I'm not living their life, paying their bills, putting a roof over their head, giving them food, boinking them senselessly, or bearing their kids so why the hell should their presence bother me? I'm going to go hop on a train, bus, taxi, in a car, or whatever to go home in a few hours or minutes anyway so I might as well suck it up and deal with it.

My thing is, if you can't deal with "lack of personal space" then you might as well shove yourself in your house, lock all of the doors, cut your phone supply out, and just live in solitude. Try doing that for a decade. I know some people who've done it and they've turned out bonkers. The only time personal space is invasive or downright just obstructive is when you're near a potential: serial killer, rapist, pedophile, weirdo, creeper, etc. Which when you think about it are all sort of similar in context. Even if some people stink horribly, there are ways to deal with it.

I just feel like this is such a trivial non-issue compared to the larger scale of things going on in society. Sue me, I think bigger problems are more important. But hey, this is just my opinion and I can still respect the opinions of people who can't tolerate being around other "annoying" people and whatnot. It's all cool.
 
Meh I feel this, but not the particular stories ya'll have spouted thus far. My thing is sometimes I like to listen to music in public to deal with a shit day. Folks try to ask me questions when I'm in my own zone, in my own head, and I'm like... F---!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't you see my head phones on?!

Seriously that's a big pet peeve of mine, if you see me with head phones on in public, I'm being antisocial on purpose. I just need a minute to think, and sometimes I hate the presence of other people.. it's just the way it is.
 
Shu said:
Meh I feel this, but not the particular stories ya'll have spouted thus far. My thing is sometimes I like to listen to music in public to deal with a shit day. Folks try to ask me questions when I'm in my own zone, in my own head, and I'm like... F---!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't you see my head phones on?!

Seriously that's a big pet peeve of mine, if you see me with head phones on in public, I'm being antisocial on purpose. I just need a minute to think, and sometimes I hate the presence of other people.. it's just the way it is.
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This times a million. It's always such a pain when you see someone's lips moving and you know they're talking to you, yet you just ignore them and then they get all pissy about it. It's like, fuuuuck I didn't listen to you for a reason.
 
Channy said:
Is anybody else bothered by how personal space these days is far less personal than it used to be? =/
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Am I? Talk about having you're personal space either taken or never there to begin with -- one word - little brothers and a dad. You all know how the internet is right? Sometimes pornographic/or border line porno pictures are on Photobucket or in peoples sigs on forums, so immediately when my oldest little brother sees it "What the heck are you looking at?!?" (~ of course he then stares himself -- nice excuse. :ahmed:)

My dad sees it; "What the hell are you looking at?"

Okay people! We get it the internet is weird! You don't have to stare at what I am typing or looking at every time you pass me and the PC :rage:
 
My mum did some course ageees ago, I cant even remember what for, but one part of it was how people reacted over her 'invading their personal space' one of her pals was like, jesus Trace, you wanna get any closer? some random old woman eye'd her up wary like and clung to her handbag xD

With people I know, I'm probably quite annoying with invading personal space, I'm just that kinda person, not when Im walking though, can't be arsed with being clung to when Im trying to be mobile, we will get to our destination so much faster IF YOU STOP TRYING TO LINK ME. I'm not fond of people I've just been introduced to being all over friendly either

As for the general public, it's an inconvenience, but it's just summat you have to endure, unless you are the only person on the bus and someone sits next to you, whats that all about? Or better, they try to TALK to you. Go away, i hate making small talk. People in queues as well, do you REALLY need to be stood so close that I can feel you breathing down my neck? I've managed to leave enough space between me and the person infront of me, back off :hmph:

There are some situations it's completely unavoidable though I suppose - as much as we would love to have an invisible bubble round us stopping these cunts getting close with their manky breath and pointy elbows
 
I hated when anybody was overlooking what I was doing on the computer. -__- Then again that was during that awkward changing phase where everything was personal, even what time I brushed my teeth or went to bed.

Kelly, spot on on the whole "one person on bus cries 'sit next to me'?" I hate that. Anytime where it's just... you in a big open space.. restaurant, bus, gym, changing room.. there's always someone there to just be within 3 feet of you. WHY?!
 
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