{ THE FAMILIAR STRANGER: ANXIETY, COMFORT, AND PLAY IN PUBLIC SPACES }

I was very happy that Mrs. Sabnani (mentioned earlier) took time out to look at my blog. In her feedback she sent me a research paper titled THE FAMILIAR STRANGER by Eric Paulos and Elizabeth Goodman.

http://drzaius.ics.uci.edu/meta/classes/informatics161_fall06/papers/19-familiarstranger.pdf 

here's a link to it.

What I take from it:

- familiar strangers are individuals we regularly observe but do not interact with.

- familiar strangers may interact if (a) If they meet in a very different environment where their knowledge and place become apparent. (b) events occur that break the social construct e.g earthquake, fire..

- people often give their familiar strangers names or make fictional stories and backgrounds about their personal lives.

- the city works as a facilitator of commercial exchange, the city is a workplace, but the city is also a place for individuals and communities, a place for people to eat, drink, dance, meet friends and just hang out. For these the city provides leisure zones.

- current trends in mobile phone usage divide people from nearby strangers in their community, uncomfortable in strange situations or public spaces, people reach for their mobile phones, dramatically decreasing the chance of interacting with people outside their social group.
- The perception, role, and existence of familiar strangers are deeply embedded within the culture of communities. In communities of less than 150 people, i.e. "the nod line", members are obligated to exchange polite greetings when they meet. In cities, the opposite hold true. Urbanites are expected to maintain "civil inattention" in public places such as the subway platform or the elevator.
- Strangers take on different meanings throughout people's lives.