Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person who looks around when there’s people present, or at least one of them. Be it on subways or streets with strangers or in meetings or at parties with friends, it seems that people are mostly fixed on one thing. I’m sure this isn’t the case, but it’s a strange thing. It leads to the sensation that, when I’m not talking or drawing attention to myself, I’m mostly invisible. Eye contact is reasonably rare, and most people seem to want to avoid it unless there’s a very specific reason. Even then, sometimes.

While I know other people are probably aware of their surroundings, I still wonder. Where has all the eye contact gone? The curiosity? I look around the subway to see if anyone is doing something interesting. Most people gaze sullenly at the floor. People won’t make eye contact when you pass them in the street. So long as you aren’t making any flamboyant gestures, you can pretty much look terrible and nobody will notice until they have cause to pay attention.

Is this a new development, or has the taboo on eye contact and acknowledging the existence of other humans existed for a long time? If it’s new, why can’t we go back?