Violating A Social Norm

The social norm I decided on was to stare at someone for a couple minutes, or longer depending how long it took for the other to be aware that they were being watched. I did the assignment in a cashier’s line at Wal-Mart to a woman who looked like she was in her early 50’s. The way I stared, to be a bit more descriptive, seemed like I was nonchalant or impolite depending on how you viewed the situation. Violating this social norm was awkward and it felt like I was creeping on that lady. The reason why I felt like this was because I normally wouldn’t pay much attention to those around me nor would I usually care. I also felt like it was disrespecting the person I was staring at, after all it’s rude to stare and I possibly could have offended
them. Not only did I feel that way, but I also felt like I was being judged by those around me who witnessed what I was doing which made me feel even more uncomfortable. The lady I was staring at seemed slightly troublesome and her facial expression was the look of disapproval Her posture was similar to a mother scolding a child and made direct eye contact with me, which I awkwardly tried to avoid. She said I was being rude and disrespectful to her by the way I was just looking at her. I was assuming that she thought low of me because I was just staring at her and her reaction was something to be expected. After being scolded from the lady, I gave her a sincere smile and told her that it was for an assignment for college and showed her the assignment as proof that I wasn’t lying to her. Not so shockingly, she complained to me for a few minutes, then let it go. What I learned is that people in society may think that their ideals are correct, but differentiate from others, which lead to their judgement. Society is cruel and we follow the norms with fear of being judged harshly by those around us. I, who normally wouldn’t care of those around me, also feared of the judgment by the society.