Do people who do ‘people watching’ unnerve you ?

[TwoMonthsOff]

I see This a lot on here
i ‘people watch’
Why are you ‘watching’ anyone ? Are your bored or lack the ability to get a book a paper and respect peoples privacy and not feel uncomfortable being ‘watched’ are you an off duty store detective who just can’t let it go in your down time ?
most people I am sure don’t like being watched or monitored to alleviate someone else’s boredom

Yet the ‘people watchers’,aren’t thought police ??

Looking at someone is not invading their privacy.

You're in a public place.

I don't do it for entertainment. I just notice people as I am sat there.. unable to walk.. I'll shut my eyes next time.

Like other I to sit somewhere and watch the world go by and people watching. As others have said its a fleeting moment you see, it's not stalking them home.

Looking at people is just being present in the world. It's totally normal, natural human behaviour

Privacy? I'm looking at you in public not rifling through your bag/ upskirting you in a toilet/ listening at the doors. The old saying a cat can look at queen holds true here. People who look at you aren't trying to police your thoughts, nor change your behaviour, nor hurt or upset you in any way. Many people will look at you and they aren't people watching at all. Just happened to look in your direction.

In what way would they be? I’m struggling to understand your thought process here

I live in a small town and it seems everyone is kind of alike. Or it seems that way.
I recently had a weekend away in a capital city, and it was great people watching! All the different outfits and styles. All the different kinds of people and 'tribes'. The people are the atmosphere of a place. Humans are a social species, watching others has happened since the dawn of time

This thread has to win a prize for the most barmy thing to be offended by!!!!

Invading your privacy because they look at you? 😁

I'm one of the people who said they people watch whilst eating alone. As others have said it generally means just watching the world go by.

Not sure how that is being the Thought Police or offensive in any way! It's natural to look at other people as you go about your day.

I don’t people watch myself (I tend to browse mumsnet if I’ve nothing to do but that’s mainly for the hit of dopamine you get when you a find a good thread 😋)

People who do people watch don’t bother me though. I’m ‘fairly’ confident in myself and if they’re not causing any harm then they’re not a problem. Unless they’re laughing at me or something (then I might start doubting myself)

I do this sometimes but half my attention is on my coffee. Im not memorising anything or looking out for anything so whatever i see is put in very short term memory.

I don’t do it as I don’t find it interesting, I’d much rather be reading a book, talking to people I’m with or imagining things/daydreaming. I find a lot people quite depressing to look at it, perhaps with the except of children. But I don’t see anything wrong with people watching, it’s just watching the world go by. Sitting and blatantly staring at a particular person, group of people is rude though and unnerving - it could at least be done discreetly.

OP if your thread is inspired by the dining alone thread, are you somehow envisaging someone staring at you for hours in a restaurant, ear-wigging your conversation?

I people-watch sometimes I'm eating alone, but last time for example I was in Majorca at a seafront restaurant. I watched people going by, in my vision for maybe 20 seconds each. I might admire somebody's dress or sandals, think the sleepy kids being carried back to their hotel are cute, hope the tipsy young lad gets home safe, wonder if DH and I will be lucky enough to still be holding hands on holiday in our 80s like that couple. Thoughts that are gone as fast as they've come, and I never think about those people again.

Like PPs; I struggle to understand how you can absolutely blank every other human out.

Maybe it's best you don't venture out into the world.

People watching isn't staring at people and making up scenarios for them

It's just sitting on a bench or looking out a cafe window and noticing the world go by. Noticing the nice clothes people are wearing, observing the way people interact and smile at each other/their children. Smiling to yourself as you see kids being kids and mucking about. It's not creeping staring unblinking at someone and following them down the road inventing a made up life for people.

What is people watching, why do you do it and what goes through your head while you're doing it?

Read the thread.

Cross posted with a couple of others.

I don't do it intentionally and only seem to notice the people who annoy me like the women who carry their bags in the crook of their elbow with their fist in the air, people who hold their phones at funny angles or those who illicit the response 'what the fuck is she wearing'?

How are people watchers (aka normal humans as it's a normal human behaviour) trying to police anyone's thoughts? Stop being batshit.

I adore people watching. As a PP said, I'll think "ooh, nice skirt", "she looks happy", "yikes, bad fake tan", "wonder what their story is" and so on and so on. I have a very bad memory for faces, but remember details such as clothing, so if I'm in a busy, populated place such as a shopping centre or airport, I will recognise people when I pass them more than once by something they are wearing or by something striking about them. I also love eavesdropping - the snippets of people's conversations overheard can be fascinating, funny, disgusting, interesting, etc. And none of this is invasion of privacy, they're out in public and speaking loudly enough to be overheard.

I do it sometimes when eating alone, especially if travelling. Sometimes also when waiting for a bus, train, flight, etc. I don't plan it ahead of time. My focus is pretty much exclusively visual - mainly on fashion and street style, cuts and fabrics and little details and how people put outfits together and accessorise. Although I do sometimes get distracted by cute tiny children and dogs. I'm not imagining anything about the people's lives - why would I? I would consciously avoid staring at a stationary person, but I doubt people walking past really care or notice.

@AllThingsServeTheBeam

Hmm but won’t you then hear people and invade their privacy in that way? Maybe we should all just stay in our homes at all times so as to allow everyone entire privacy.

Come on op, you know this isn’t reasonable. You see people in public - presuming you aren’t blind. If you want privacy you need to stay… you know… in private!

I do people watching too.

Juts like I watch buildings around me, I watch the flow of people and the movement if pigeons etc…
I don’t imagine scenarios behind the person. I dont stare at them - that’s not people watching, thats staring.
i do look at try to be aware of my surroundings Because it’s very easy to just rush through, not looking, nit seeing what’s going in around me. And I believe that I’m missing a lot by not actually seeing what’s around me.

I'll have to invest in some headphones!

People watch is fine, it is generally meant as having coffee, taking in the world as it goes by, and maybe commenting ‘that’s a nice top / trainers’.

It isn’t, I presume, staring at people and wondering if you could follow them home… 😳