What do you do to fill in the time? I usually listen to music or read, but sometimes those two things aren’t enough to satisfy me. However, when you’re in any environment where you’re not alone there’s a unique alternative to fill the time; people-watching!
People-watching is all about observing people and what they’re doing. We often do this subconsciously, but intentional people-watching can take your enjoyment in the mundane to the next level. I usually find myself eavesdropping on conversations (although this is not a requirement), and revel in the information I absorb. Recently, I overheard a Teacher’s Assistant spill the tea to her friend about all the drama happening in her grade 9 class!
It reminded me of how silly my own drama was back then and brought up some fond memories that I’d completely forgotten about. So, I’m sure you’re wondering—how do you people-watch with intention? How do you get away with it? What do you gain from it? You’ll have your answers by the end of this article, and can practice what you learn to become a people-watching professional!
How do you people-watch intentionally?
First off, you need to pick someone to watch. If a person nearby caught your attention with an action – their attire, or anything else – they’re the perfect person to watch! Simply put, intentional people-watching means picking up on unique traits or details about a person, and using that to make guesses about what their life is like. These unique details can be anything – the words they use, their expressions, activities – you name it! For example, if you saw a person with a large camping backpack on the subway heading towards the airport, what might you think?
I’d guess that they were going on a solo backpacking trip in Europe, or that they were heading somewhere remote to live off the grid for a while. But the options are endless – who knows, they might just be going on a normal trip and didn’t have anything bigger to hold their stuff! That’s what makes it so much fun to people-watch. You can imagine anything, even absurd situations, that the person you’re watching might be in.
How do you get away with it?
One of the biggest fears of people-watching is that you’ll be caught or accosted. It’s inevitable that you’ll make eye contact with the people you’re watching sometimes, but there are ways to be discreet about it and prevent anything awkward or bad from happening. You can look at your phone/book/etc. and watch them with your peripheral vision – a little difficult to do, but the most discreet way to actually watch someone. Otherwise, eavesdropping is the way to go.
You can pop in your earbuds or throw on your headset and not play anything (I prefer to put in one side and have music in the background) to be discreet about eavesdropping, but there is no need to.
I will caution that people-watching strangers that are actively conversing can make eye contact even more uncomfortable, especially if they’re close to you and you react in any way that makes it obvious to them that you’re listening in. This brings me to my final piece of advice – if you make eye contact with those you’re watching, make it as brief as possible. Eye contact is awkward, and it’s better to play it safe and look away to find another subject to pass the time with.
You don’t want to risk an altercation and it’s best to proceed with caution when engaging with strangers (if you people-watch on public transit, please remember this).
What do you gain?
You take away from people-watching what you put into it. If you’re simply looking for entertainment, you’ll be entertained. If you want to exercise your creative muscles and imagine the lives of the strangers you encounter, it can be useful practice for both character building and analysis! I’m trying to be more intentional in my people-watching to help myself with reading body language.
Any social or people skills can potentially be developed through people-watching – you can learn to recognize physical cues, tone, microexpressions, and patterns in discussion! I think the knowledge gained from people-watching is universally applicable, so it’s a useful hobby for anyone to take up.
People-watching might not be for everyone. But the little things you pick up on from engaging in it can be impactful. Seeing a young girl happily riding her bike could evoke nostalgia and take you back to your own childhood. Watching an elderly man doing gardening could remind you to check up with your parents and grandparents. The essence of people-watching is appreciating the little things in life and making those little things big with your imagination.