“Morning!” “Lovely day!” “Gosh it’s hot!” “Glad I brought my brolly!” It may have mostly been about the weather, but when I was a child, I remember everyone spoke to one another. Even strangers acknowledged each other – especially when I visited my relatives in Oldham.
Nowadays, without making the first move, I could go all day without making eye contact with a person – let alone getting a smile or a simple ‘hello’. There may well still be a North-South divide but over the past few years there has definitely been a decline in the gentle art of acknowledging your fellow humans.
I first noticed it in my work as a university lecturer, after Covid-19. Students would stare at the ground, no longer open doors for me and grunt back if I offered a jolly greeting.
Shorts
Then trips to London were met with diverted eyes on the platform and silence on the Tube – and even country walks, when there’s no rush or stress to blame, seemed far less social with people focused on the ground, their dog, straight ahead – in fact anywhere other than me.
