This isn’t creepy…AT ALL

I like to pretend I’m the shadow in the corner, watching people, observing them as they go about their daily lives.

Shit, no, that’s creepy, delete that. 

I like to pretend I’m the shadow in the corner, watching people, observing them as they go about their daily lives.

There’s something interesting about the way University students go on about their days, I reflect. They live in a world that is so much more open to them than it was for my generation.

Nope, now I sound old as fuck. Delete that last part. 

There’s something interesting about the way University students go on about their days, I reflect. They live in a world that is so much more open to them than it was for my generation.  than generations that preceded them. As much as there are subcultures within subcultures in life, they go about their days with their noses buried in their cell phones, talking to-

Wait…I know you can bury your nose in a book but in a cell phone? Look that up before publishing. Where was I?

Someone once said that communication was as much about the things that weren’t being said, as much as it was about the things that were being said. 

That’s good, keep that. Cite it? Maybe. I have to see if I can find the original source.

This play between the gives and takes, the trade-offs in communication are evident on campus. If I put my hand here, your eyes go there. If I shift this way, you shift that way. If I lean into you as you speak, I’m interested in what you have to say. But if I’m leaning back…am I disinterested, or does my back hurt, and I’m just trying to find a comfortable way to sit?

Communication is psychology. Body language, tone, inflection, micro-expressions. All critical parts of the non-verbal communication we engage in every day.

A security guard is looking at me, looking at other people. Take a selfie. Pretend you’re not being weird. La-la-la, I’m normal. Hi.

Actual Selfie!

Seeing people from class. Wonder if I should write about them? Maybe. Don’t name names. That would be blacklisting. OH! Note to self: Check when the Black List comes back onto TV. Rahul Kohli just replied to me on twitter…that’s cool.

Follow me on Twitter! @aj_jones_author

Psychology is in every part of communication, as we can see. From our paralanguage to the way we sit close to people. The terms we use are interchangeable and applicable on so many levels. In psychology we let people into our space bubbles. In communications we call it proxemics. As I look around Old Main I can’t help but wonder how many students, just like me, realize how truly interconnected what they learn really is.

Too preachy? Nah. Keep it.

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