I sometimes wish it was socially acceptable and normal to speak to strangers on the street and befriend them

33 comments

1. Just start running up to people and tell them you need to talk with them about their vehicles extended warranty lol

2. I work retail and it’s surprisingly easy to just have conversations with strangers, it’s one of my favourite parts of my job just talking to people. I don’t try and sell them anything I just talk to them about something like if they’re wearing a band T-shirt I’ll talk to them about music or if they’re wearing Nice shoes I’ll compliment them. I love it when I have a genuine nice conversation with someone I’ve never met.

3. It is. I mean if I saw someone randomly chat up a stranger I wouldn’t think is was weird, I would probably assume they knew each other. On the same note, if someone randomly chatted me up and they were friendly and cool I would be thrilled. Probably rarely happens but I’m sure it’s happened.

4. It really depends on your generation. I’ve noticed that older people like small talk more.

5. I make new friends all the time with random strangers.

6. I’m totally the person that meets people in random places and starts talking to them. I once did a half marathon and made friends with someone. We still keep up with one another on Instagram.

   That said, give it a try! Some people will not engage. But, you will eventually find someone. I’ve had some interesting conversations with people, especially at coffee shops. Just pay attention to social cues, if they have a laptop open in front of them, they may not be keen on engaging in an hour long convo. But, they may welcome a small break.

7. I live in a small town in Canada. It is socially acceptable to strike up conversations with strangers.

8. If you rolled high enough in charisma, it can certainly be the case.

9. That’s more of a per country issue, in my country you definitely can just talk to strangers on the street.

10. Go to the North of England, they legit do this all the time (as a Southerner it creeps me out)

11. ‘Why can’t we be friends..why can’t we be friends.’

12. What are you talking about? It is socially acceptable to talk to strangers on the street and definitely socially acceptable to form a bond if you two click

13. It is.

    I do this as a millennial to pretty much people from any generation and background, as long as they’re up to it.

14. It’s perfectly normal here in the Midwest. I’m old enough to remember that sometimes people would dial a wrong number, and the caller would get into a friendly conversation with the stranger on the phone anyway. It happened to me several times. One conversation lasted about twenty minutes.

15. It’s not?

16. I find it weird how people get so weird even if you make a passing comment to them

17. its weird for some people. I found out that there is people who are ok to befriend with them

18. It really depends on where you live. Quiet place with tourists, vs a metropolis where people outside are always in a rush.

19. I think it still is but not in cities. People are just too busy and everyone is a stranger to everyone else. Try moving to a small town or large village. If you can work remotely, of course.

20. It is depending on where you are and how you was raised. I talk to strangers all the time. Some people get weirded out and others talk with me. It’s a dad world where we can’t even talk to strangers anymore.

21. I wish so too, but the older you get the less you care about ‘socially accepted’.
    These days I just talk to about anyone I find intriguing. I’ve found that for most people they just wish the same and if you’re not a total creep they will just hold conversation with you.

    ​

    Another thing I wish was more accepted was giving rides to people not actively trying to hitchhike, but that’s a whole other can of worms…

22. Who says it is not? I live by the motto,” Everyone knows something that I don’t know” The more people you talk to the more you learn. Talk, make friends, have fun!

23. I do this all the time tbh it just takes finding the right people

24. It is not society telling you that it is unacceptable. It is a pathological voice in your head. Perhaps it served a purpose once when you were younger, but now it is a nuisance. Ignore that voice.

25. I go on walks in busy spaces once a week hoping I’ll walk into a context where I can do that, or someone will just talk to me. Never happened yet but here’s hoping lol.

26. To be honest, I do just do this, all the time. Not so much in the streets, as in the shops, fast food places, bus stops. Anywhere that people might appreciate the monotony being broken by a friendly smile and a joke.

27. Lol I was thinking about this while playing the sims a few hours ago cause in that game you can randomly start conversations with some strangers. There are some old ladies or men that somehow start conversations while waiting for the bus (at least where I live), but besides that I almost never see anyone do that. It’s probably because our society taught us not to trust strangers, cause they might be criminals or perverts (usually when talking about men but of course women are of no exception). I wish that we could actually talk with strangers without them giving us side eyes or ignoring us 🙁

28. As an introvert person, I feel good when this happens. I’d never go to a stranger cause I’m too shy to do that but if someone bumps into me to talk, I’ll be the happiest person

29. Wait, that’s not normal? I talk to strangers all the time, mostly older folks though.

30. It’s not?

31. If it’s natural and you’re talking about your surroundings, it actually is. I know a lot of people feel this way, it’s just most of the time we leave each other alone. I do like that you’re having this thought though, so i say DO IT

32. Come to the south, we do this all the time

33. I’ve befriended total strangers before. Once waiting for chemo on my thyroid. Lol She lives 3 hours away, totally different from me and we still talk… It’s all in how you approach life. You can attract positive people.