Personal Space

I was thinking about this at work the other day. I was in the coffee break area observing the other workers, just looking at how close they were sat next to each other. You can see whether the two people:

a. Know of each other
b. Have spoken a couple of times, and know their names, but nothing more.
c. Are strangers to each other
d. Are friends (and this section could be sub-divided further...but that's too much hassle!)

You can tell by how much space there is between them.

Imagine - a bench, with one guy sat there.

Another guy comes over...where does he sit? On the complete other side of the bench. They're strangers - they don't know each other, they don't have any need to talk to each other.

A second guy comes over...where does he sit? About 3-4 feet away, not on the other side of the bench, but not right next to the person. Clearly, they know of each other - they may recognise each other facially...but not sitting close enough for any conversation to begin.

A third guy comes over...where does he sit? The bench is getting a little bit more crowded now, but still enough room to decide. He sits about 2 feet away. They know each other's names, they might be on the same team, they may have had the odd conversation here or there - not at length, but they do know each others basics pretty well.

The last guy turns up, and the bench is quite full. If he falls in sections A or B...he will not take up that space next to the original man. He will begin a new bench. If he falls in sections C or D, then he will fill it. If in section C, he will awkwardly walk over to the gap and sit there...and thinks to himself that he is clearly breaching the original person's personal space...but thankfully, they do know each other, so it's ok. If he's in section D, no problem - he can sit next to his friend without a care in the world. He sits next to his friend, he doesn't care who is sat on his other side, nor should he. He's not feeling awkward. Then the original man gets up to go back to work, and immediately the last man feels very awkward. They are both strangers to each other, and yet sitting as close to each other as good friends would be. One of them will get up...to cover up to getting up, they'll go and get another drink or pick up the paper, and stay.

It's quite funny to watch. Next time you see a bench...see the awkwardness. But it doesn't work on undergrounds, because they have dividers between the seats. This doesn't count. The bench must be a normal, non divided, bench. Enjoy observing!