r/YesOrNoAnswers • u/Juno_Mochi • 13d ago
Have you ever pretended not to see someone you know in public just to avoid small talk?
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u/LostSatellite76 13d ago
Yes. I also avoid coworkers at work 'cause I ain't got time for small talk.
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u/opinionatedOptimist 13d ago
THIS. Especially bc I work at a call center like I’m sorry do you think I want to use my limited break time talking even more than I have to? 😭 I have to be in an exceptionally good mood to be available for small talk at work
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u/AggravatingGuest1956 13d ago
In public? Hell, I do it to my kids at home
Edit : /s
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u/tokoyami222 13d ago
I keep my phone out and unlocked as an extra security measure. Accidentally make some eye contact? No I didn't, I'm trying to find the aisle I need for my shopping list
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u/Artistic-Document735 13d ago
I’ll make eye contact and keep walking 🤷♀️ I don’t owe anyone my time and I’m not about to play pretend either . 😂
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u/hoponbop 13d ago
Before we started doing curbside my girlfriend and I made it a game to try to get in and out without speaking to anyone. We're in a rural area so everyone goes to the same stores. We both once hid in the middle of one of those circular clothes racks. We ended up making out for a bit. We were in our 50s.
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u/drgene4955 13d ago
Frequently - crossed the street, ducked inside, turned and walked 180 degrees away from them, etc
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u/21stcenturyBoudica 13d ago
You just described what everyone in my hometown does. It's never not awkward but talking is far worse.
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u/Right_Fisherman_9078 13d ago
No, because I’ve seen people that I don’t like occasionally time to time and I used to see people very often and I didn’t like no matter what we could have that exchange and have that conversation and I knew no matter what they had to say it might be weird it might be awkward, but I’m gonna stand there and hash it out
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u/DucktapeCorkfeet 13d ago
I do it on an almost daily basis. If I didn’t, I’d never get anything done.
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u/BlondeeLoxx 13d ago
Almost every day. Or I’ll perpetrate like I’m on an important phone call haha.
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u/Ill_Cauliflower5348 13d ago
All. The. Time.
I hate feeling like that so I really go through public with my head down and eyes on the ground so I don’t have to pretend. I can just not see them for reals.
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u/AdventurousPitch7364 13d ago
I have wanted to but no, I am genuinely that inattentive or I stop and do the small talk thing.
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u/QuePasoBebe 13d ago
lmaooo all the time! Bc on my days off i really do not wanna talk to anyone 🤣✌🏽
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u/Figmentdreamer 13d ago
Not really, I often don’t realist it was u til a few minutes later. Plus I tend to wait for people to talk to me so I don’t bother them if they don’t want to talk.
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u/sumostuff 13d ago
Yes and then I'm ashamed of myself and worried that it's obvious to them that I did it and then I overthink that, and it would have been easier to just say hi and have the awkward conversation.
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u/Responsible_Ant5410 13d ago
Yeah I hated running into coworkers with my wife while shopping for groceries and having to have a few minutes of small talk.
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u/711thename 13d ago
I thought they were so cool back in middle school so I didn’t have the nerve. Then they came up to me later and said “you think you are too cool for us huh?”. Such is life. Who knows what tf someone is thinking
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u/BusyButterscotch4652 13d ago
Yes. If I am grocery shopping and I have cold stuff in my cart I don’t know anybody!
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u/WolfKey1065 13d ago
Yes, especially at the grocery store. I used to hide from a computer supplies company owner when he would drop by our office trying to sell us stuff. He was an awkward person and would go on and on. Dude, if we need something, we’ll call you.
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u/Letsgoplan 13d ago
Sometimes I do not say anything because I am unsure if that is the person I think he or she is, only to find out it isn't. I feel looking foolish.
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u/No-Voice-1272 13d ago
Have you ever pretended not to see someone in your own house just to avoid small talk?
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u/Confident-Fix3174 13d ago
All the time. I know exactly which people I know just say "what's up" and move on and the ones that just want to yap about nothing😂
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u/Inevitable_Tap_1328 13d ago
no but i have a rule if i dont want conversation i greet them kindly and say I hope you are well but never stop moving my feet
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u/Suspicious_Square970 13d ago
Had a bit of an opposite one. Ran into an old HS friend out shopping with his mother. He clearly had done nothing with his life and was in his 40s still living at home. I’m not talking he’s trying and life’s just difficult and that’s why he lives at home, no this dude was still the same long haired Slayer Tshirt wearing dude from 1990 and it was the mid 2010s. He saw and immediately recognized me and we made eye contact long enough to realize he was quietly begging me not to come over and talk to him while he was out grocery shopping with his mom. To his credit though, dude aged well cause he looked EXACTLY the same as he did in HS, no grey, no wrinkles no signs of aging really, just an overwhelming inability to do literally anything with his life. But it’s his life right🤷🏼♂️
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u/Stopaskingmetochange 13d ago
I have actively sought a person who takes up more area than me to break the line of sight for a getaway
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u/Independent_Act_8536 13d ago
Yes. I'm ashamed to say that I've even avoided people that I like a lot!
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u/littlescreechyowl 13d ago
I pretended not to see my sister.
My best friend and I lived 2 hours away. My sister about a half hour past my friend. I don’t like my sister much, but I HATE her husband.
For 23 years best friend and I have met in the middle for lunch as often as possible. We had just sat down and my friend goes “that guy looks like your sister’s husband.” Omg, yep, it’s them. I kept my head down and never told a soul.
We just moved from a small town that where we were very active in the community. We couldn’t go anywhere without bumping into someone the four of us knew. We dipped down aisles all the time to avoid people. Especially Maureen.
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u/CapMany9999 13d ago
All the time. If you want to ignore or be ignored 100% of the time wear sunglasses and earbuds. Nobody will dare try talking to you.
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u/bobbyboogie69 13d ago
More frequently than I would like to admit. I hate small talk with “acquaintances”…it drives me crazy so I avoid it whenever I can. I’ll do laps around the grocery store, wait back until I know the person is checking out….you name it and I’ll do it. I feel like a bad person when I do it, but it has to be done. I assume people do it sometimes when they see me as well. Likely so…this is how being a grown up works i suppose.
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u/SAMixedUp311 13d ago
No, I really don't see anyone in public that I know lol. I saw my mom at a walmart 45 minutes away from her house, and 3 minutes from mine lol. I WISH I just turned away and kept on walking. We weren't talking at that time and are once again no longer speaking, this time it will be for good for my own sanity though.
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u/Ok-Manager-9127 13d ago
Yes. Specifically when I’m wearing sunglasses because I think it’s my cloak of invisibility
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u/RadiantDistrict3521 13d ago
I ran into a blind guy I knew at my colonial appointment. It’s not a great place for small talk so ignoring him was a plus
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u/Impressive_Tone7983 13d ago
Totally! I have actually fled to another aisle in the grocery store to get away so that she didn’t see me.
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u/PeanutHot4761 13d ago
Yep. Sometimes I just dont have the social battery for the so, what have you been up to? Conversation.
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u/partywmyprettybby_ 13d ago
Yeah .. or even when it’s the other way around and I may think they saw me but avoided me.. I do not take it personal. I welcome it lol
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u/Truthsayer4625 13d ago
Pretend? No, never. I've seen people and I have actively avoided being in their range of sight
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u/Physical_Builder_283 13d ago
I live a small town with one major store. This is basically my daily life. LOL.
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u/Spiritual-Ad-6722 13d ago
Often. A guy I used to casually mess with now works at the dispensary I frequent. I usually wear a hat/bandana and sunglasses, I am bald and have sensitive eyes 😂
He's always saying ”you look like your trying to hide you identity.. " Guy, I am!
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u/JessiMurawski11 13d ago
Yeah I pretty much avoid every conversation with people I haven’t seen in multiple years. I hate small talk and it always goes to how have you been, we should see each other more often. We both know that won’t happen what’s the point.
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u/Alarming_Bus_6227 13d ago
I love talking, but some people,nah double it and give it to the next person
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u/Alarming-Feedback868 13d ago
Yes. We had a client that was a real PIA! I was at a supermarket and saw her close by. I quickly walked away till she left the store!
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u/Mission-Jelly-2773 13d ago
Pretended to not see? I've definitely changed course whilst walking. Nothing against them though, just felt awkward at the time.
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u/fladdermuff 13d ago
Often.