India vs US social interactions for Indians, in my experience, had one key difference:
US assumed new people were good by default
India assumes people are not worth your time by default
5 ways that this manifested in people's behaviors were fascinatingβ
1/7
US assumed new people were good by default
India assumes people are not worth your time by default
5 ways that this manifested in people's behaviors were fascinatingβ
1/7
Wealth signaling in India is important
People need to know your status to accept you. More focus on branded clothing, driving a fancy car, only going to places that cost a certain amount. Subtly mentioning your trips abroad.
2/7
People need to know your status to accept you. More focus on branded clothing, driving a fancy car, only going to places that cost a certain amount. Subtly mentioning your trips abroad.
2/7
English-language signaling in India
Speaking English is a big social status signal. Watching English shows like Game of Thrones and movies like Avengers implies you're "classier". People often go out of their way to dissociate from local language film / music to fit in.
3/7
Speaking English is a big social status signal. Watching English shows like Game of Thrones and movies like Avengers implies you're "classier". People often go out of their way to dissociate from local language film / music to fit in.
3/7
Status signaling during an introduction
In India, introductions were made by doubling down on the "importance" of the people you're introducing. It's almost never "oh he's a good buddy", it's "X is what he does." School, college, job, profession are all status signals.
4/7
In India, introductions were made by doubling down on the "importance" of the people you're introducing. It's almost never "oh he's a good buddy", it's "X is what he does." School, college, job, profession are all status signals.
4/7
Social signalling
People seemed a lot more hesitant to hang out with others in different income / status brackets so as to not have it rub off on others' perception of them.
5/7
People seemed a lot more hesitant to hang out with others in different income / status brackets so as to not have it rub off on others' perception of them.
5/7
I experienced various situations where someone who didn't know me would "talk down" to me when they didn't have these signals.
In the US, more often than not, I don't have to signal anything in particular and random people will happily engage with positive intent!
6/7
In the US, more often than not, I don't have to signal anything in particular and random people will happily engage with positive intent!
6/7
In wealthy pockets of the US, trust is high & people are more homogenous.
India's not worse β its a side-effect of having so many people, huge economic disparity and a lower trust society.Β You wouldn't leave your laptop even for a few mins at a coffee shop in India!
7/7
India's not worse β its a side-effect of having so many people, huge economic disparity and a lower trust society.Β You wouldn't leave your laptop even for a few mins at a coffee shop in India!
7/7
This is squarely my experience and may not generalize to everyone. I've also had plenty of interactions in India that didn't follow this theme. I'd love to hear your experience if it's different!
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