During my sophomore year, a new commuting phenomenon came to the Phoenix public transportation system: the Metro Light Rail According to the Metro Light Rail's official website, the light rail served a weekday average of 39,335 patrons in 2010.
Despite its popularity, I am more likely to see headphones than to hear conversation and to look at someone’s sunglasses than to see their eyes. Instead of engaging conversations, I see people desperately avoiding one another in this space we all share for a little while.
Researchers Tali Hatuka and Eran Toch at Tel Aviv University have found that technology, like smart phones, have taken the “public” out of public places. Smart phone users “feel that everywhere they are, they have their privacy,” Hatuka said. This mentality has spawned what they are calling “portable private personal territories.”
Exacerbating this technology-bubble phenomenon is the fact that we have been groomed to be afraid of strangers. We see and hear things about wars, poverty and crime all the time. We read Facebook posts, tweets and Tumblr posts about all sorts of harrowing tragedies. If you believe even half the things you see or read, you’re likely to believe that it is only a matter of time before civilization crumbles.
When we are afraid, we become easy to manipulate and easy to control. We are afraid to talk to other human beings because we think they’re going to harm us. It’s like we think we’re going to draw in a stalker by smiling. News flash: We do not live in bad Lifetime movies — making polite conversation with someone is not going to get you killed.
It might mean dealing with social rejection, though, which stresses us out like aggressive situations do. According to a study conducted by UC Berkeley, our brains physically respond to situations of rejection with urges to either fight or flee.
And more often than not, we flee. We become scared to communicate with the people around us when the opportunity presents itself. In doing so, we deny the connections that others are trying to make with us.
We must realize that the people who surround us in public might really be worth knowing. If we never talk to them, there is little likelihood of discovering their friendship.
The next time you’re riding on the light rail or a bus, talk to someone. And if someone talks to you, don’t be rude. I’m not suggesting you tell them extremely personal information, but a five-minute conversation won’t hurt you.
And who knows? It might even be fun.
Plan a light rail rendezvous with Alexandria at atipping@asu.edu. Follow Alexandria at @lexij41.
