Weekly Observation #4

This week I did my observation this week on the beach at Panama City Beach, Florida. The beach was filled with couples and families, the early morning you would see joggers and singles. Playfulness was the overall feel of most of the nonverbals I observed. Children and adults splashing each other. Smiling faces everywhere, people stepping lightly or stepping with a bounce. Pointing at so many different things from the beach to the shells washing in on the waves, the jellyfish. Many sitting reclined with their eyes closed. You could tell the couples. There was a lot of touching, some more obvious (kissing and such) some more subtle, hugging, playfully pushing.


Weekly Journal #4

I have always found social norms interesting, especially when someone breaks them. It makes people so uncomfortable with just a small amount of change. My friends and I used to challenge social norms a lot in high school just to see the reactions of those around us. Sitting down in the middle of a busy walkway, walking backwards for an extended period of time, talking at just a little over the rooms volume in a restaurant, etc. I always enjoyed standing with a friend and pointing at nothing in the sky to see how many people I could get to look, if they saw me point they always looked. It's interesting how people get so comfortable in their norms. In the text I liked the idea of when someone breaks a norm it makes people focus more on the situation I think that may be the answer on how to keep people enjoying time more in the present and focusing less on the future or their to-do list. I have stood in an elevator facing the wrong way and have noticed that people tend to laugh or give more distance.