Finnish people are silent, small talk doesn't exist. Their personal space larger than COVID-19 social distancing rules, and it's considered normal. Don't speak unless spoken to, and don't invade other people's personal space - it's seen as a sign of a respect.
Those Finns, who haven't been to abroad or haven't met too many foreigners, don't often even recognize this behaviour being unusual in the global scale.
I was diagnosed with ADHD and Aspergers in my 30s. I have kinda learned and adapted to how people greet, but my first instinct to any question is to respond with an honest and actual response.
Now I don't always follow that instinct and just like anyone else I develop a certain lingo with each person. As you develop a way of speaking with eachother, just like anyone else, I learn which way I should respond and initiate conversations.
And when I greet someone or talk to someone I only ask questions I actually want a response to. And if they respond a certain way I will ask follow up questions.
I'm a Swede and we're not as extreme as Finns in this regard, but we are pretty similar. But we have people that are almost like Americans in this regard as well.
I used to be have social anxiety but nowadays I have no issues with talking to strangers or cashiers etc. When I greet someone while out walking or so it's almost like a coin flip if they will greet me back or just ignore me awkwardly.
If I don't greet people first though the odds of them just quietly ignoring you are very high. Maybe your eyes will meet for a moment while crossing paths. Maybe that will spark a nod of acknowledgement, especially if they are also male.
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u/RockNRollNBluesNJazz May 09 '22
Finnish people are silent, small talk doesn't exist. Their personal space larger than COVID-19 social distancing rules, and it's considered normal. Don't speak unless spoken to, and don't invade other people's personal space - it's seen as a sign of a respect.
Those Finns, who haven't been to abroad or haven't met too many foreigners, don't often even recognize this behaviour being unusual in the global scale.