Strangers on the Train



(http://www.postsecret.com/)

 This week, out of the twenty secrets posted on the website, this one stuck me the most because of its blatant truthfulness. I believe that as a society, it has become harder for each and every one of us (especially Americans) to start conversations with strangers. As this postcard depicts, even when we see people doing 'suspicious' things, like a person drawing pictures of others on the train, we hesitate to ask them about it. I think that this lack of being conversational is due to the increase in technology. Everyone nowadays is in their own little world on their iphones or laptops and could care less about what is going on around them. We no longer have conversations with people around us, only people we specifically choose to talk to.

I'd like to contrast this with my summer visits to Poland. I grew up in a fairly rural town called Nowy Sacz and I visit my family there every summer. People in this neighborhood do not own iPhones or any sort of 'new age' technology because it is too expensive and not as popular as it is in America. Instead of technology, they rely on conversations. It is not unlikely to go to the market and be stopped by strangers on the street who are saying "good morning" or "how are you today?" This type of interaction is VERY normal and it is even considered rude to not talk to a person you pass on the street, even if he or she is a complete stranger. To me, this type of social interaction is very pleasant and meeting new people every day is an amazing experience.

So what went wrong in America? I guess technology makes us feel that we do not need the rest of the world; we only need the people in our contact lists on our phones, since they are so easily accessible.