Brits’ awkward social greeting habits revealed

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  91% find social situations awkward most (or all) of the time
• Seven in 10 Brits would always greet a stranger in the country, but never in a city – and don’t know why
• One in 20 would rather comment on the weather than say “Hello”

Nine in 10 Brits find social situations awkward most – or all – of the time, according to new research.

Ripe polled 2,000 UK residents on their attitudes and behaviours in social interactions. It found that almost half (48%) think British people are fundamentally awkward, with a further 84% saying they have cringed at themselves in a social situation before. For one in seven people, this feeling of social shame or anxiety has kept them up at night.

The survey asked respondents about their habits when greeting a stranger and found a huge discrepancy depending on their surroundings and situation. Seven in 10 said they would greet a stranger while in the countryside and 66% would do so in a village. However, just 32% would greet a stranger if they were in a town, and only 22% would do so in a city. However, almost all (92%) were unsure exactly why.

Additionally, half of people said they would always greet a passer-by on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day, with 40% of people saying they would do so at a pub. Around a fifth (22%) would greet a stranger at the supermarket and 13% would do so on public transport. But just one in 10 would say hello while waiting in a queue, and only 6% would ever do so in a public bathroom.

When it comes to style of greeting, half of those surveyed typically say “Hello, Hi or Good Morning, Afternoon or Evening”. Around a quarter would smile, with 7% saying they would wave. In true British fashion, though, one in 20 admitted they would rather make comment about the weather rather than say “Hello”.

Respondents were also asked to rank who it would be most awkward to greet in public, with a vague acquaintance coming out top of the list – or more so than a stranger. A huge 14% of people said they would find a friend or family member the most awkward to meet while out and about.

John Woosey, Founder of Ripe Caravan Insurance, commented: “Amongst the most commonly-held stereotypes about British people – that we love queueing, drinking tea and talking about the weather – is that we’re exceptionally awkward in social situations. And it seems our research confirms it. Encouragingly, though, we’re all same boat – so let’s embrace our tendency to cringe through greetings and accept it’s all part of the fun!”

Credit to https://www.ripeinsurance.co.uk/caravans/ who supplied the above post