The comedy of watching teenagers hug. It's like they're from an alien planet and learnt the skill via youtube: it's exactly the same every time and they have a complete dislike to human contact. It makes me wonder why they bother.
I'm currently sat having coffee and waiting for a friend, I'm people-watching and writing this - that is, after all, the only reasonable thing to do while waiting for someone!
So, the hug. You've all seen it and it goes like this... Two people meet, they exchange the same 'hi-iy' in that up/down tone of voice that suggests surprise despite the fact that they arranged the meeting. They stand at a respectable distance and linger just a little bit too long that they become suddenly aware of their bodies (please note: adults don't linger and so the hug naturally falls into place, this can lead to too little awkwardness, but that's another story). She will then tuck her hands into her sleeves and raise her arms, wrists pointing forward, while not moving, it is the other person's job to guage the distance; tricky because you don't know whether to go for a full-body hug or just an arm hug. And so comes the actual contact. The other person moves in taking the first person by surprise, who actually steps away, this results in a full-upper-body hug with their feet miles apart! This incredibly awkward encounter usually lasts just seconds before they spring apart and carry on on their merry ways. If it weren't for the friendly 'hi-iy' at the beginning, you'd assume they were arch enemies trying to 'out-nice' each other (you know 'out-nice, we've all been there - you meet your ex's new girlfriend and you have to appear completely cool and fabulous so you try to out-nice her, this also works with the girl you hate in front of mutual friends; heaven forbid you should be the awkward one).
The body language of teenagers makes me love my job. I spend hours everyday with the strange hormonal specie and I've made body language my life's study! So many times I think about my own awkward hugs/handshakes or worse - both! With the unfortunate result of stabbing your friend in the stomach as they went for a hug and you went for a handshake... Definitely more of a male problem, but I've done it too!
So next time you start complaining about teenagers hanging around town centres, watch how they hug - it's so entraining!
About Me
- Pixie
- How many times have you wanted to escape to the bottom of the garden and disappear inside your imagination? Well, I've wanted to every since I started school and I doubt I was the only little girl with a fully furnished 'camp' behind the garden shed. Hence how I got the nickname Pixie, and strangely, it's followed me around for the last 20 years. Of course, every now and then even Pixies must emerge into the real world, but the real one's never stop venturing back to camp. So, here's what I've discovered on my travels so far...
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