Interacting with a stranger was an experience that I have not personally sought out for, for a long time. I did not really know what to expect and who I would encounter while finding a stranger to talk to. For me, my interaction came from meeting someone on the train ride home from school. I was sitting next to a girl where I could assume that she was around my age. I was pretty nervous to embark in any form of conversation with her because I thought it would be odd to strike up a conversation out of nowhere. Gradually I gained the courage to speak up as I noticed she was reading a book I knew, “These Violent Delights” by Chloe Gong. I mentioned how I knew the book and we started talking.
I believe that the stranger interaction was very different from my online interactions. Over social media you are able to keep a “persona” up and not have to physically face people in person. The sense of anonymity gives people the comfort of sharing more and being overall more transparent with others. Another difference that does occur, is adapting to the lack of social cues online. When talking to someone via text there is a limit of understanding the true intention of the message if you do not know the person you are talking to closely. When talking to the girl on the train, I was able to discern whether the conversation was going well and also if I should continue talking to her. When online you do not have that privilege and sometimes it could end in the other person “ghosting” you.
