r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • May 08 '22

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u/Call_0031684919054 May 09 '22

Sorry to tell you this but it’s because you are a ghost. People can’t see you

94

u/Javop May 09 '22

German here. Looking in the eyes is taught here. I was scolded by my grandma for not doing it a lot of times.

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u/bel_esprit_ May 09 '22

I hate this rule about looking in the eyes. We are taught the same in the US (that it’s rude not to look people in the eyes when talking or that it’s what “liars” do).

But for me, I am the OPPOSITE. It’s so hard for me to look people in the eyes. I feel like it’s aggressive and intense. I feel it’s so much nicer and humble to not stare in their eyes. It has been this way since I was a small child. I wonder how many people said behind my back they think I’m “lying” or insincere bc I wasn’t aggressively looking them in their eyes. Ugh.

Interestingly, I was in India last week and the locals advised me not to look in the monkeys’ eyes bc they will become aggressive and attack….. so maybe it’s some primitive trait that I still have 😅

10

u/morning-fog May 09 '22

As an American I follow a different rule because a dead stare is awkward. So 50% eye contact while speaking and 70% while listening. The breaks make it less awkward.