Social Interaction in Public Places
Uploaded by srheric on Apr 23, 2007
Social Interaction in Public Places
I learned a lot when I observed the diverse groups of people in the atmosphere of the restaurant, T. J. I. Fridays. I learned that the place is very sociological and very easy to observe and listen in on people’s conversations. I took a couple hours out of my night to eat at the Fridays located next to Rosedale mall. It is a fairly active place especially when I went on a Saturday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. I sat in smoking which was located fairly close to the bar giving me a very social crowd to observe. While I observed I was covert-active because I was a part of the whole scene, but I didn’t tell them I was observing.
When I arrived and was seated, I couldn’t help to see my first group of victims. They looked to be an older group of a men’s softball team. Their status symbols were represented by the softball uniforms they all wore, topped with matching hats. The group showed a strong sense of social cohesion with the way they were bonded by their uniforms, hats, and interest in softball and beer. This went to show me that a group having many similarities will be very close and friendly like I had observed. While the team got up and left, I couldn’t help to notice the two women sitting to my left.
They were well into their forties and both were smoking cigarettes and drinking some sort of a tropical drink. They both were very dramatic in their words and expressions as they expressed their feelings to each other about someone they both knew. This reflects on their roles in society as being dramatic and very social. I assumed these women had very similar background assumptions with the way they both were dressed in the same manner and showed signs of drinking and smoking. Also, mechanical solidarity is shown here because of all their likenesses.
As I glanced towards the bar, I spotted two elderly men sitting together on bar stools, mumbling to each other things that went to show of how much of a man each of them were. From their dirty work clothes, flushed faces along with somewhat red eyes, I assumed these men had consumed...