To all of my readers,
The Happiest of Christmases and a wonderful 2012! To those who are celebrating Chanukah, enjoy your families and friends and I hope 2012 brings wonderful things to each of you.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Lost Art Of Mingling...
I've always been a person who could get along in almost any social circumstance. While I am rather reserved by nature, those who do not know me well often assume that I am shy when, in fact, I am taking in whatever is going on around me. My friends and colleagues know I rarely miss a trick. In a former life, I often did interviews, and learned how to observe. Both are part of any good writer's stock in trade.
The other evening, I attended a singles function and deliberately sat with a table of strangers thinking that perhaps I might draw out one of them and have an interesting chat. What happened instead was that the group at my table became an audience for the only actor in the room who had just finished a film. Here was a man full of funny stories and jokes who knew how to work at least our part of the room. The end result was that no-one at our table had a chance to meet anyone else. I also noticed, however, that those at other tables stayed to themselves and only spoke to people with whom they were already acquainted.
My standard question after introducing myself generally involves asking about the others line of work as this is not too personal. That was met with, "Well, why don't we wait till everyone sits so I don't have to repeat myself?" More than a question, it was a rebuff. I will not ask this of the same individual should we meet again. At similar functions, I am usually eventually cornered by someone curious about my chair, if not me. Even that was a non-starter in this particular group.
All of this begs the question, whatever happened to mingling? Are we all so enthralled with our mobiles and access to the Internet that we've lost the art of face-to-face conversation? Perhaps middle and late middle aged adults have become so jaded that they no longer enjoy meeting others? If true, then why attend at all?
What do you think?
The other evening, I attended a singles function and deliberately sat with a table of strangers thinking that perhaps I might draw out one of them and have an interesting chat. What happened instead was that the group at my table became an audience for the only actor in the room who had just finished a film. Here was a man full of funny stories and jokes who knew how to work at least our part of the room. The end result was that no-one at our table had a chance to meet anyone else. I also noticed, however, that those at other tables stayed to themselves and only spoke to people with whom they were already acquainted.
My standard question after introducing myself generally involves asking about the others line of work as this is not too personal. That was met with, "Well, why don't we wait till everyone sits so I don't have to repeat myself?" More than a question, it was a rebuff. I will not ask this of the same individual should we meet again. At similar functions, I am usually eventually cornered by someone curious about my chair, if not me. Even that was a non-starter in this particular group.
All of this begs the question, whatever happened to mingling? Are we all so enthralled with our mobiles and access to the Internet that we've lost the art of face-to-face conversation? Perhaps middle and late middle aged adults have become so jaded that they no longer enjoy meeting others? If true, then why attend at all?
What do you think?
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