Nosy People
Why are people so annoyingly noisy?
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think I like nosy people as much as I like pushy people. I have a co-worker who thinks that everyone’s business is her business (sound familiar?). Whenever I’m working at my corner of the desk, she always has to ask me what I’m working on, as if she were my boss or paying me my salary (and mind you, I’m technically above her on the food chain, but I’m not one to flaunt that tiny fact). Politely, I say that I’m working on X or Y, but what I really want to say is, “Keep your friggin’ nose in your own business and out of mine!”
I’m one of those people who has no interest in closely surveilling what other people are doing. I haven’t installed hidden cameras around my co-workers’ cubicles, I haven’t bought a pair of binoculars to spy on my neighbors, and I haven’t hacked into any of my girlfriends’ computers. I really have no desire or time to do those things, and at the risk of sounding selfish, I’d rather focus on living my own life than to find out the details of how other people live theirs. I could care less about the minutia of what others are doing, so I have difficulty in understanding the mindset of nosy people.
What motivates them to pry into the lives of others? Are they bored and seeking entertainment? Do they feel empowered being the keeper of knowledge? Are they looking for blackmail material to use at an opportune moment? According to some, nosy people are nosy because they want to compare themselves to others or because they want to feel superior to others through devaluing people. Seems to me that nosy people must be rather unsatisfied with with their own lives that they have a need to scrutinize others. That’s pretty sad, if you ask me (but nevertheless, their behavior is still annoying to the rest of us).
Well, whatever the reasons for their nosiness, I find nosy people rather irritating and wish they would get their act together, focusing more on what’s happening in their own nests than on what’s happening in the nests of others. Why can’t some people just quit being nosy and leave others in peace?
Why indeed.
Hahaha! POWER HUNGRY!!! I would say that that person is so insecure that she will use all the means to control others. If she wants to be in charge, she should earn it and get a higher education.
I think that’s the same reason for the reality show fascination these days. I don’t understand why people like to waste their time watching other people who are either: too wealthy with nothing to do, or like to fight and be as horrible a person as possible. The worse the behavior, the more popular the show. I think people do like to watch and think, “well, at least I’m not like him or her.” Here’s a question for you: why do so many people base their behavior on who they are not, instead of who they want to be, like it used to be?
You make a good and interesting point, Cristin. Those reality TV shows do seem to encourage people being nosy through watching other people make spectacles of themselves. In my opinion, if we must have reality shows, it would be nice to have shows in which people who have extraordinary talents and gifts are displayed, like a present-day Mozart or Einstein. I suppose, though, that would be too boring for a society that champions the mediocre and notorious. As for your question, that sounds like a “why” to be explored in a future post–thanks for bringing it up! 🙂
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Nosy neighbors and coworkers want to collect gossip, which makes them feel important when they spread it. It’s funny how the gossips and nosy people always have the worst gossip in their lives if someone else where to spread it.
How true!