[the-alchemist]

> Knocking on a friend's door (though he knows a same-age kid two doors away) would be considered out of bounds nowadays.

Yeah, the social dynamics of this kind of thing baffles me. I'm sure it's very neighborhood-dependent, but neighbors don't "check" up on each other either.

I think this is more U.S.-wide: it's not socially acceptable to knock on someone's door or ring their doorbell even if they're waiting for me. You're supposed to text that you're waiting outside. Doorbells are only for deliveries and unknown strangers (like selling something, politics, religious missionaries).

If it's not socially acceptable to knock on a friend's door when they're waiting for you to get there, then it's definitely not gonna be socially acceptable to just knock, see if they're home, say hi, and that's it.

[Meekro]

I'm not sure where this is coming from, maybe it's a generational thing?

In my case, (36M living in Texas) it's totally normal for people to knock or ring the doorbell. Neighbors drop by to talk about what's happening in the neighborhood, friends come to visit, etc.

[floren]

The invention of "anxiety" as a condition afflicting everyone under 40 means it's a faux pas to knock on a door, call a phone, or otherwise interact with anybody unless you warn them ahead of time.

[infecto]

No I don’t think it’s generational. I see it across the age spectrum and I am in Texas too. Lots of neighborhoods just don’t interact. The gems are the neighborhoods where people live there because they really want to live in that house within that neighborhood.