Thursday Observation Session

This Thursday I sat on the west side of Kennedy with a classmate and observed the individuals.

I noticed that all of the tables outside of the Kennedy building was filled with people. One table had three people who were friends and the other two were occupied by one individual at each table. I started my focus on the table int he middle of Kennedy. There was one girl sitting by herself using her laptop. She seemed distant from the other two tables and looked as if she did not want to be bothered. This surprised me, because at the table with three people, nobody was using a laptop. Instead, they communicated with each other.

After two of the people from the table of three left, the single individual still at that particular table began to use her laptop. This was interesting because, when she was alone she resorted to technology. This may be because she wanted to fill the gap of being alone.

Almost every person who walked by the outside of Kennedy was texting or talking on their phone. There were not many people who were walking alone and not using some form of technology.

What was even more interesting was that since all the tables were occupied by at least one person, others had to share a table. So, when new people joined someone who was already occupying a table, they faced the opposite direction of the person. What this means is that they turned their backs toward the front of the person who was already occupying the table. This was entertaining because I assumed that the culture we live in is so independent that people have become aware of the fact that others may not like for strangers to share a table even if it is the last seat available in the area.

In connection with the multiple new people who joined an already occupied table, I noticed that after a while, these people turned around to face the person who already occupied the table. I assumed that the new individuals first needed to make sure that the already seated person did not protest and then they became more sociably accepted, thus, they turned to sit properly at the table.