[baxtr]

Do you get bothered when someone talks to you in a nice fashion?

[leonflexo]

If the answer is, "of course not". Pull that thread. Honestly, so much "therapy" for some of us boils down to confronting/examining that disconnect and exploring why it exists/how it came to be.

[baxtr]

Thanks for completing my comment :)

[rootusrootus]

Not the guy you asked, but my answer is: only if they are panhandling. Otherwise I usually feel a little surprised that someone would have any interest in my thoughts. So I feel a bit tickled if they have genuine interest.

[mh2266]

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/introvert

[lkbm]

Introvert does not mean "doesn't like talking to people".

[deanmoriarty]

I genuinely get bothered when someone talks to me. I am typically rushing through my day to do stuff, whether it is hiking, grocery shopping, working out, or going to the restroom at work, and getting interrupted feels to me like getting an unwanted push notification on your phone.

When someone occasionally engages, I extremely quickly dismiss them in the most polite, but firm, way possible. I also intentionally keep a demeanor that generally signals I’m not open to random conversations (I avoid eye contact etc.), but that often doesn’t work. At the gym it is particularly problematic, I’m focusing on gathering strength for my next set and sometimes people bother you even if I am wearing headphones.

I truly do not have a problem with who I am, I’m comfortable in my shoes.

As such, never in a million years I would approach a stranger to strike up a conversation, it would seem an incredibly rude thing to do towards them, on top of clearly not having any desire to engage from my side.

I’ll talk for hours straight to my wife, close family and the very few friends I have though!

[cdrini]

> I extremely quickly dismiss them in the most polite, but firm, way possible.

And I think that's the answer; people who don't want to talk will simply tell you! And everyone carries on.

[setsewerd]

Fascinating how much this varies by culture too. People generally have attitudes similar to you in Nordic countries, or even Seattle, but then you go to South American countries, or India, and it feels like everyone talks to everyone all the time.

[jibal]

> it would seem an incredibly rude thing to do

It's one thing to not want it and to be comfortable not wanting it, but viewing it as rude goes way beyond that and is not rational.

[singpolyma3]

Yes

[baxtr]

Interesting. How come?