Do you think people in general lack self-awareness?

Question

Ive been in a job where ive been working with the public for about 6yrs at this stage and ive come to the conclusion that most people have no awareness of themselves or the people around them. They say and act in a rude and ignorant manner to those around them. Seemingly without any knowledge or awareness of the offensive way they behave. Ive learned at this stage to not take it personally when a customer is being rude because like I said, I dont think they even realise what theyre doing.
What has been your experience of people, do you think they lack awareness and are off on another planet? thanks

Answer 1

In general people lack awareness. This is actually the basis of psychotherapy, to be more aware of yourself and your interactions.
The problem is that people think that they are aware of themselves. They honestly believe that they know what they are doing, and make active choices. However, their lack of true awareness is very apparent to others around them. Still, this makes us have to wonder about ourselves, and if we are really aware of how we interact. It is easy to judge others, but you need to be aware of where this judging is coming from.
Usually, Judging others is a defense mechanism where we identify flaws in others to set a personal benchmark for ourselves, to establish ourselves as superior, to validate our insecurities.
But yeah, People are usually unaware of how they interact with others, and you usually should not take things personally, though we all know that is much easier said than done!

Answer 2

Okay, myself.

Being old enough to remember when customer service was not consumer relations, I am always on a slow boil when I have to phone any company. It usually requires stamina and a lot of time. I was brought up with excruciatingly good manners, but my tolerance for the incompetence and lack of humanity in business is zero. If I am given a scripted response, I will do anything to confuse the person on script and get them to speak to me interactively.

I challenge every statement that could be ambiguous or condescending.

I would ask you the context of your dealing with people. Are you selling? Is there anything that could be considered an invasion of privacy?

I have worked with homeless people, people facing serious issues and terrible health and life challenges. Know what? They are rarely rude....
and neither am I. Mutual respect.

Answer 3

Working with the public can be very difficult. In most of these cases, I think the problem is precisely the opposite of lacking self-awareness: people are so absorbed in themselves that they lack awareness outside of the self. Rude behavior is only rude as it relates to other people. If I swear, belch, and scratch myself alone in my house, it is not rude to anyone. If I am ignorant, but impose my ignorance on no one, there is no harm done. If, on the other hand, I go out in public and begin spouting profanities and racist or homophobic slurs as though no one would be offended by it, it becomes an issue.

So, whether you want to call it a lack of appreciation for etiquette or just an inability to understand viewpoints that do not exist in one's own mind, the problem is a lack of other-awareness, rather than self-awareness. I think you are right that they do not realize they are doing anything wrong, but it is often only wrong because of its impact on those around them.

Answer 4

On a truly philosophical level, for one to lack self-awareness is akin to being unaware of their own existence. They would have lack any brain function (be in a complete vegetative state) for that to be.

You're bringing up a mere sociological issue. In that case, these people have serious interpersonal dilemnas or inferiority complexes which cause them to act irrationally when dealing with others. In some cases, their upbringing and environment has a lot to do with the way they react. Lastly, and leastly, there are just some people who really get off to being downright *****. That's society for you.

Answer 5

Yeah, I'd agree with that. It varies greatly from culture to culture, and even from region to region. I may not be in love with the southern states of my country, but I have to admire San Antonio...ans. Their streets are practically sterile, not because of the sanitation department, but because if a citizen sees trash on the road, more often than not, they pick it up themselves... and throw it in the trash when they can. As a New Yorker, this is unfathomable, and my hat goes off to them.

I wouldn't call it self-awareness (or lack of), as much as consideration. They are inconsiderate because they aren't aware of others in the manner they should be. It's a social problem, one I equate to the de-emphasis of family values. Only proper upbringing can correct this, there's no way to legislate courtesy and respect of those around you.

Answer 6

I believe there is 3 types of people
-people who have bad days
-people who are normal, but are jack@sses
-and everyone else.

really I do believe that they have acted this way for so long they don't know they are doing it. And it is said but what can we do..they will be how they want to be. They are not from another planet...because if they were then I am sure someone would be smart enough to ban them from ours.

Answer 7

The heaven never acts with force,
yet there is nothing that it can not do.

If rulers could follow the way of the ethics,
then all of creation would willingly follow their example.
If selfish desires were to arise after their transformation,
I would erase them with the power of the Uncarved Block.

By the power of the Uncarved Block,
future generations would loose their selfish desires.
By loosing their selfish desires,
the world would naturally settle into peace.

Answer 8

I completely agree. I'm an insurance agent and I have some of the rudest customers. Like people will call while they have a screaming baby on their hip and I can't hear a word they say and it drives me nuts! Or people will use cell phones when they have little to no service and get upset because I can't hear them. Oh the day to day things I see.....

Answer 9

Yes. People in general are inconsiderate to the needs and feelings of others, and fail to realize that there are other people living on this planet aside from themselves.

Answer 10

I don't think its self-awareness they lack so much as a sense of communal responsibility.
I worked for adult and juvenile probation units...operative word "worked"....... for the most part, people are very aware of self, interpreting their desires as rights...."its my right to get...." "it wasn't right that they..." I heard its my right and I deserve so often that I became absolutely disgusted when I heard anyone say those words. Its a feeling of revulsion I continue to fight against.
In general, people don't care about "others"...they do care about themselves, and that's great self-awareness.