Or do young lads try to walk right into you deliberately?

[MrJohnsonAteMyCustard]

It's something I've noticed quite a lot recently, always with young lads/teenagers. It's as if they are deliberately walking into you with no intention of moving. I've come to expect it now so make sure I give them a very wide berth, because I've noticed that if I don't get out of the way they will most certainly at the very least brush past you.

For a long time I thought it was 1) Coincidence 2) Me needing a reasonable amount of personal space. But no, it happened today, in quick succession and the two lads obviously knew each other. Is this a new 'thing'??? Is it a game??

If anyone can enlighten me on this, that would be great as I'm wondering if it's just me they seem to want to antagonise

[barinatxe]

It's being a cunt. It's mainly teenage boys but can affect people of any age or gender. The best way to deal with them is to just stop yourself - they look more of a prick for walking into you than they think they look "heroic" for forcing you out of the way.

It depends on your attitude. If you are afraid of contact with other pedestrians and get out of their way at all costs, then you will be the sort of person who ends up always getting out of the way. It can spread into your life generally too. It's a self-reinforcing cycle: "I'm weak therefore I must yield therefore I'm weak."

As a social experiment, try this and see how you feel afterwards: make a point of not yielding for the next ten people you meet. Even if it means you both stop dead in your tracks. Do not give way. You might feel awkward, embarrassed or nervous - but empowered at the same time. Interestingly, often people apologise for the inconvenience of them getting out of your way! (At least in Britain, you won't get this reaction everywhere...)

I have to do this from time to time because otherwise I just become a doormat. I stick rigidly to the "next ten people" rule although I make exceptions for children or obviously disabled people; you don't want to be the cunt who walks into people yourself, after all.

[ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmmmmmmmm]

Love ,love,love the teenaged boys doing the 79 yard diagonal cross the road saunter. I speed up, and aim for the closest. They usually move pretty sharpish.....I MAY have clipped one once.....to the amusement of his friends.......

[SuperDuperJezebel]

I had this happen to me this weekend. After a day of people refusing to give me their seats on the tube despite being 39 weeks pregnant, and missing a train because people wouldn't let me through, I'd just had enough. I was already walking along a wall in the station to let people go past in the other direction - lots of people going one way and me on my own going the other way. A bloke veered out of the crowds and straight into my path. I am usually super polite and far too nice to say anything but by that point of the day I was over it. I just stopped dead and asked him was he planning to walk through me, and if not where did he expect me to go? He just silently walked around me and carried on. I'm hard to miss at the moment, shaped like a potato and walking like a penguin, so I have no doubt he saw me.

[lidoshuffle]

I don't know that it's done purposely, but people crashing out of shops or side streets expecting people in the main flow of pedestrian traffic to stop for them drives me mad. When did people become so unaware of other people's space? Once we used to all flow around each other effortlessly.

I just carry of in full sail now; even accidentally stood on the back of a crasher's shoe and it came off!

[Rednailsandnaeknickers]

It's definitely a "thing" here for the secondary school kids. Had it a few times before I realised it was completely intentional and a game - I then heard a group of them discussing it on their way from the school up to our village shop. (Pretty small rural supposedly "naice" school). They seemed to have a score rating between them.
Later that week encountered same group going other way and the tallest, gobbiest one of them veered out to walk straight at me.
Unfortunately for the 14 year old lanky streak of piss, I'm a pretty substantial 5'8" that lifts weights and used to swim competitively and played women's rugby at Uni. I dropped my shoulder, kept my pace and bundled him out of the way (must have looked like Lomu going over Catt ).
Funnily enough they've not tried it again with me.
It's totally a "craze" at the moment here and very very irritating. Can only imagine how scary it is for someone unsteady on their feet or with mobility difficulties.

[Chottie]

I came across a group of lads straddled across the pavement, I just smiled and said 'excuse please, gentleman' the group leader said 'hey there's a laydee coming through'. I replied 'you got that right'. Smiles all round and they moved out of the way. (south east London).

I personally always move out of the way of buggy pushing mums, young toddlers and the elderly, pavements are narrow and there has to be some give and take.

[NotYoda]

Chottie

Same here (London)

[TheSecondOfHerName]

I work in a school with 1250 female students aged 11-18. The corridors get quite crowded between lessons.

In my experience, any collisions are accidental, caused by some adolescents being oblivious to anything outside themselves and their immediate circle of friends. It peaks at age 15ish... might be slightly later in boys.

[bertsdinner]

Never had it from young lads, if anything, they're the most polite and likely to move.
I find some older men, 40/50s seem to take delight in shoving women out of the way or banging doors in your face. Its like a reverse of chivalry if you see what I mean, like they're proving a point (not quite sure what, apart from being an ignorant pig), they seem to revel in it.

Young women, on their phones just drift into you, then tut. As, obviously, we should all just move out of their way. I just ignore these and look straight through them, I wont move either.

[superturnip1]

Young men are the group I find most courteous, most other demographics, including female ones, contain a large proportion of ignorant people who just walk into you if you don't move.

[SoupDragon]

I speed up, and aim for the closest. They usually move pretty sharpish.....I MAY have clipped one once.....to the amusement of his friends.......

Seriously??

[MrJohnsonAteMyCustard]

The lads that have done this with me have never been on phones, never been 'distracted'. There is a distinct sense that is deliberate. If they were wearing headphones, fiddling with devices, talking to someone, that would be entirely different. That is never the case. Obviously, people have bumped into me whilst doing these things, and they generally apologise, and even if they don't, I realise it's because they were not paying attention. The very young boys that did it yesterday were obviously walking directly towards me and they guys that did it today were quite clearly meaning to bump me.

[MrJohnsonAteMyCustard]

I have of course, encountered very polite youngsters - many times. I believe that these idiots are in the minority, but it's still upsetting and disquieting when it occurs.

[PidgeyfinderGeneral]

I can't say I've ever had this, but being a tall Londoner, I do walk fairly assertively and people tend not to walk into me. I've never moved out of the way for mobile phone starers but they seem to sense it and swerve at the last minute.

[LanaorAna1]

It's so a south London thing - I call it street slamming. By far the most courteous persons are teen boys, and by far the rudest are 40-plus men and women.

It bloody hurts. I am no waif, but vast London women can really do some damage when they ram you with 20-odd stone of pure fragile femininity. A woman in High St Ken had her wrist snapped when she helplessly put a hand up against one onslaught. You can shame men into apologising, which is something, but ain't nothing stops Cannonball Chloe.

[Whathaveilost]

I noticed the other year that if I was walking in a public space and either another female or a couple approached me from the opposite direction we would both give way to each other resulting in no collision. It was something that just happened naturally. However I began to notice if it was a male by himself or a group of men (ok not every single male on the planet) but more often than not I had to give way to them. I set up my own experiment. I wouldn't give way if a male, from teenageyears up, was walking towards me ( unless it made them walk on the road r bump into something). I was nervous but I wanted to see if I was imagining things- oh and I wouldn't say sorry either if we bumped. I would say something but not apologise.

What I found happened was that there was an expectation that I would move. When they had to give way more often than not there was a look of confusion or bewilderment on their face. It was difficult to do sometimes. Often I would pretend to read something from my phone but really I was observing.
I would never push my luck, for example I wouldn't do it in the city at night in a deserted area but maybe round Bolton in the middle of the afternoon.

I stared people watching more. It really is shocking how women are expected to move out of the way for (many) men.
Like I said if we bumped I wouldn't apologise unless they did. If they didn't say anything neither did I.
It has made more assertive about personal space.

[UnicornMadeOfPinkGlitter]

I'd hate to live where you all live. I've never experienced this thankfully. Not that I've ever felt on purpose anyway.

Loud teenage girls in a shop who fell into me who were then extremely apologetic.

I have two teenage boys myself and a pre teen girl and I hate the way that they are perceived by the general public and blamed for everything.

Unthinking and boisterous yes I can imagine such as dumping bikes by shop doorways or standing in big crowds but I still have faith that 99% of them would be mortified if they were told they were being intimidating or getting in someone's way.

[PidgeyfinderGeneral]

Literally the worst place on the planet for this is Canary Wharf between 12 and 2pm.

My god.

It's like two motorised streams of people charging up and down on a conveyor belt towards their lunch. I think they might actually beat someone to death with a Pret baguette if they tried to cross the streams.

[ChestnutsRoastingOnAnOpenFire]

Blimey I'm in London every day and I find young men / teenage boys to be the politest and courteous of all. Middle aged men are the worst for barging people out of the way. They are so...angry.

[Whathaveilost]

unicorn maybe you are one of the women I observed that subconsciously move out of the path without realising it!

I live in Lancashire, people have mentioned it happening in London.
I have to say it doesn't tend to be mid teens that do this but from late teens up. There does seem to be a pattern in the type of male that expects me to move and those that have said 'sorry love'

[SomewhatIdiosyncratic]

My 3 year old charging at kneecaps with his toy pram tends to produce a rapid scattering effect on teenage gangs. I jog on in his wake like an ambulance chaser

[Lilicat1013]

It definitely happens round here and is absolutely different to people just not paying attention or being generally inconsiderate. They look straight at you and will move to be in a position to walk in to you. It's always men, though not necessarily teenagers.

The other 'game' is to walk up behind you/next to you as close as they can to be intimidating. The aim seems to be to scare you/get a reaction.

If they are coming towards me I walk in to them, I'm 5'10 and I square my shoulders and speed up. My attitude is if you want to play games I will knock you the fuck over. If I am running and runners seem to be a special target. These dickheads will look you straight in the eye and cross from the other side of the cycle track to get in your path. Before I realised it was deliberate I used to go round them while they 'accidently' stepped in front of me again or tried to block me. Now I sprint at them, my attitude is move or I will move you.

With the ones who like to come and stand as close as possible, I ignore them like they are invisible even if they are standing literally with their shoulder touching mine. They can't seem to work out what to do and give up.

With regards to (adult) cyclists on the pavement, I hate it. I would prefer to be run over than to move and if I can possibly be more in their way I will be. The roads are fairly quiet here often with cycling sections marked but rather than use them they come down the narrow pavements at speed. I've seen so many near misses with elderly people.

[SouthWestmom]

Im going to post now and then go back and read the rest of the thread, so relieved to read this I spent most of the weekend reliving some teen boy slamming into me and wittering on an my mum about it.