Socializing in the Digital Age

[sbarrera]

I find that it's tough to strike up a conversation with a stranger in public because it usually just makes them anxious. They reply once or twice to you and then just try to get away. There's even a thing people do where they use their phone as a defense mechanism to avoid interaction. They get in the elevator and pull it out of their pocket to look at as a signal to others that they do not want conversation. Every once in a while though, you can engage someone who is open to conversation. It's either a person who is gregarious (which is not the norm) or someone with whom you have something in common and they are actually interested in conversation.

But maybe it's just me.