We can disagree on politics, music choice and sports teams but almost everyone can agree that people-watching is an entertaining pastime. Perhaps it’s finally a nice sunny day so you decide to people-watch while sipping your iced coffee. Maybe you’ll spot a couple walking by that don’t seem to fit together. Maybe there’s nothing exactly wrong with them, per se, but something is a little bit off. You take a moment to sip your iced coffee, brainstorming scenarios, and so it begins.
Before long you begin creating an elaborate scenario of how the couple met. Perhaps they matched on Tinder and decided to give it a go. Maybe they didn’t necessarily hit it off but neither had the guts to say no to another date, so here they are five dates later, awkwardly holding hands and engaging in conversation.
People-watching is both an exciting pastime and a guilty pleasure. Alright, not many are willing to admit they do it yet it is still widely accepted as a common habit. Creating backstories adds flavor to the otherwise mundane days. It challenges your creativity, adds excitement and perhaps keeps you going when you really should be going to sleep.
Unlike gossiping about those you interact with on a daily basis, people-watching brings a thrill. Your story about this stranger could be spot on, completely wrong or somewhere in the middle, but you are in charge of the story, the characters, and the context. Never having interacted with the person at hand adds to your ability to spice up the story.
Going from your home to your job to the gym and back home can become monotonous. Telling your spouse or significant other of yet another day of work drama doesn’t always create excitement. However, strike up a conversation about the strange man on the subway who had a patch on his eye, now that can captivate any audience.
People-watching, simply put, is like a sport. The act gets increasingly challenging and by playing off each others’ sentences you can add more and more players. Portraying a full story while staying in character becomes increasingly difficult while your audience starts to chuckle and smirk. Storytelling is taken to another level simply because you let your imagination wander just by seeing faces of strangers.
People of all ages, genders, and cultures seem to have taken people-watching and turned it into a real-life hobby!. Most people-watching scenarios are relatively harmless and are only meant to add fun to your day. People-watching can be a great way to de-stress, a way to bond with friends and a way to let your creativity flow. If done with no intention of harming those involved, it can be a healthy way to relieve stress and enjoy life!
