Should we talk to strangers?

We always tell our children not to talk to strangers.  I think this is good advice for children but for adults – we can have a very impersonal and lonely environment if no one talks to each other.

I am currently in Australia and almost everyone I pass says hello.  It puts a smile on my face.  I think the world would be a much happier place if we adopted this in other countries.

According to Wiki How – starting a conversation with strangers ‘is the social equivalent of skydiving.  It’s fun and interesting, but risky’.   Hopefully the chance of meeting a rapist or murderer is very low, and maybe whether we say hello to them or not will not make any difference.

I have taught my kids to not go anywhere with someone who I have not given permission to – we use a codeword that the person must know.  But we go to many social events where we have conversations with strangers.  My kids often ask me ‘who was that?’ and I reply ‘I have never met them before’.

Networks of friends are important.  Some of my closest friends were strangers that I struck up a conversation with at a social event.  I am very glad I did.  I even teach my students about the importance of networking and friendships.

I know many people who do not even know their neighbours or people who work in the next office.  Knowing people you live or work in close proximity to can have many benefits.

What about talking to someone on your commute?  Do you ever talk to the person you sit next to on a train or plane?  Do you even smile at them?  A study published in 2014 from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business found that even though people think that talking to a stranger during their commute will be a negative experience, they actually report greater wellbeing after doing so.

“This misunderstanding is particularly unfortunate for a person’s wellbeing given that commuting is consistently reported to be one of the least pleasant experiences in the average person’s day,” said study researcher Nicholas Epley, a Professor at the University of Chicago. “This experiment suggests that a surprising antidote for an otherwise unpleasant experience could be sitting very close by.”

Do you talk to strangers?  Should we say ‘hello, how are you?’ to more people?

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Image credit:  www.news.com.au