DEAR ABBY: I am SUPER outgoing! Always have been. I can walk up to anyone and start a conversation. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that many people have no personality. During the pandemic it became exponentially worse. Neighbors don’t speak. People look at their phones every waking minute and have lost their conversational skills. It is pathetic.
I don’t know people’s backgrounds or interests just by looking at them. I’m smart, but I’m not telepathic. If people don’t know how to simply say “hi” or “good morning,” something is wrong! COVID shut things down. But if you weren’t friendly before the pandemic, how are you going to be five years from now? Humanity is doomed if we don’t interact. -- FRIENDLY IN THE EAST
DEAR FRIENDLY: The COVID disruption may have contributed to what you are describing, but it had been building for at least the past 20 years. As people became more and more fixated on their electronic devices, the ability to look someone in the eye and converse withered.
If you don’t look someone in the eye and communicate in person, the ability to read social cues withers and is eventually lost. I believe this has caused much of the isolation and loneliness we are experiencing in our society. If we are going to fix this, people will have to teach themselves to unplug and reach out to the people around them. Making the time to exchange social amenities as simple as smiling and saying, “Good morning,” is an easy place to start.
** ** **
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
