I think that it should be more socially acceptable to sit next to somebody
Summary
Why do we insist on sitting across from each other at restaurants like we're conducting interrogations? A stranger on the subway argues that dining side by side should be the norm, whether you're on a first date or grabbing food with a longtime friend. "When you're sitting in front of somebody like that, it becomes more of an interrogation than a social setting," he tells Kareem. There's less vibes that way. He compares it to someone visiting your apartment and sitting three feet from your face to chat. Weird, right? The conversation shifts to another pet peeve: people asking "How are you?" after years of radio silence. It's been five years. Which day are you even asking about? When the dog died or when the job came through? He's got a foolproof response though: pretty good.
Full Transcript
So, what's your take? I think that it should be more socially acceptable to sit next to somebody when you go out to eat instead of across. 100% agree. I don't understand why more people don't sit next to each other when they go out to eat.
Well, I just don't know who decided that this was like an acceptable way to interact with a person like this, like just facing somebody 3 ft away, especially if you already know them, you know? Kind of weird. It is like why are you sitting across from one another? If somebody comes over to your apartment and you're and they're like, "Can I have a seat?" and you say, "Yes." It would be insane if they just sat three feet in front of your face and just started asking you. When you're sitting in front of somebody like that, it becomes more of an interrogation than a social setting. There's less vibes.
Yeah. You know, on a first date, I think if you if you really want to get that, if you want to hit that, you got to sit next to him. Sometimes I'll go out with like a buddy and we've known each other for like forever and we literally just got done sitting next to each other at the apartment, then we go out to eat and then you go to sit down. They're like, "Oh, what are you doing, man? This is crazy."
And it's... Oh, you want to do this in platonic uh situations as well? Yeah. Like if we go out to eat, me and you sit like this.
Yeah, exactly. What if I'm right-handed and you're left-handed? Uh, that's not good.
Switch. Sounds good to me.
See, got anything else you want to get off your chest? Um, I think it's like, uh, after a certain amount of years, you should like not ask somebody how they're doing. You've lost the privilege. You haven't seen someone in 5 years, and they'll say, "How are you?" And you're like, "What? Since the last time I saw you?" It's a long time to say, "How are you?" Like, which day? Yeah. When the dog died, when I got the job, when I lost the job, when we stopped being friends, like, or it's like someone says, "How are you?" And it's I think about like right now and it'll be like I'm annoyed that you're asking me. That's why I always say pretty good.