I like waving at people.
Call me creepy. Call me crazy. Call me old school. My significant other even makes fun of me for waving at people. But I like waving at people and telling them “Hello” with a bright smile on my face. Sometimes I even wave again if the person doesn’t see me the first time (maybe this is the creepy part?).
Even if it is creepy, people will smile and wave back most of the time, and that is awesome.
What Happened?
Why has waving at people (among other things such as smiling at someone, introducing yourself to your neighbors, or going out of your way to talk to someone you don’t know) become such a taboo?
We get in people’s cars every day, and we don’t even know these people. But somehow, Uber and Lyft have made this okay — despite this being everything our parents warned us against.
Society has made it okay to interact with someone you don’t know if there is a monetary transaction involved.
Money has made stranger danger feel safe.
So, I can pay someone I don’t know for a ride, but a free “hello” is deemed creepy and inappropriate.
Despite people finding it creepy that I wave, smile, and say “hello,” to people, I will continue doing so. Because over 50% of the time, I get a lovely wave back, and I can tell my triple threat interaction (wave, smile, and say “hello”) has positively impacted and added a bit of sunshine to that person’s day.
The Digital World & Generation Alpha
In today’s world, we continue to become socially impaired because of the increase in our digital interactions and the decrease in our in-person social interactions. As new generations come into being, like generation alpha, we are becoming masterminds of technology but neophytes at social and emotional intelligence. As we continue to progress in such fashion, collaboration, communication, social/emotional intelligence, and solving world issues will be negatively affected.
From shorter attention spans to the gamification of education, from increased digital literacy to impaired social formation, these times impact us all but transform those in their formative years. Generation Alpha began being born in 2010, the year the iPad was launched, Instagram was created, and App was the word of the year- and so from their earliest years, they have been screenagers. — McCrindle Research
Generation 90s
In the meantime, some of us 90s babies haven’t been completely tainted by the digital age and will continue to thrive socially in a radically changing world. So call me the creepy smiley lady that says “hello” to people she doesn’t know, but you will always need people like this, so you don’t forget what was once considered a normal thing to do — that people actually enjoyed witnessing.
Try The Triple Threat Today
Wave
Smile
Say, “Hello” to someone you don’t know
It may not only brighten someone else’s day but yours as well. And if the person you try the triple threat on doesn’t respond so kindly, at least you gave out some positive energy, which still counts. As a society, we don’t always have to expect something back. It’s okay to give without a return; these are the best and most genuine type of givers, and the world needs more of these.
Thank you for taking the time to #elevate your life with this quick read. Grab your free books here — Destiny S. Harris ‘ Free AmazonBook Page. Wanna keep in touch online? Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, or my Website.