What pisses me off? People that don’t respect personal space

Personal space is something we all need. It is also something that has very definitive boundaries for each person… Today, what pisses me off are people that encroach on personal space because I got thinking about it after a recent day-trip to a beach…

Recently, a few friends and I were drawing and painting at a local beach. We’d taken over a couple of picnic tables and were spread out. It was a fine day but there was a cool wind so there were not too many people about, apart from the die-hard surfers and swimmers in the rock pools. A bus drew up, we ignored it. Suddenly we were surrounded by Japanese tourists. Some sat on the seats with us, some hovered behind us. None spoke English. They wanted to look at our work and watch us drawing. I felt like our personal space was under threat but complied with them regardless. I gave the woman next to me my pencil and her friend took a photo of her pretending to draw with me. They only spoke in Japanese and could have been saying our works are awful and we have no talent for all we know, but they said it with a smile so we naturally thought they were praising our artwork. As quickly as they came the bus took them away again.

Our group has had that happen to us previously, but the audience was Australian and they asked us if they could watch and did so from a distance.

This got me thinking about personal space and how different cultures view it.

I remember a girl from South America who I worked with many years ago. She came from a busy city and was so surprised at our public transport system. She said four people could fit in our train seats and was surprised at one person taking up the whole seat. People would have just sat in a small space next to that one person until they moved over in her country. We sit on public transport seats and hope no-one wants to share it. If they do share it we feel threatened if they get too close.

In cities in Thailand families live in very close proximity. Yet they get along well and look out for each other oblivious to living in one another’s pockets.

Does the fact that we have space around us in our society result in our personal space needs being greater? How far away does a person need to be before you feel comfortable? Imagine a stranger walking up to you – how far away would they need to be, facing you directly and maintaining eye contact, before you feel out of your comfort zone?

Where are your personal space boundaries? Tell us any funny stories about when they may have been crossed in the comments below!