A Day In The Life...Of Proxemic Zones

Throughout the day today, I have been paying extra attention to how Proxemic Zones affected me personally. Starting very early this morning and lasting until early this evening, I kept track of every instance where either I made a choice, or someone else did, that involved using Proxemic Zones. I will provide the example and some commentary with each situation and summarize my results at the end.

9:15 a.m. - Where to sit on the benches at the bus stop

As I am approaching the bus stop this morning, I noticed myself beginning to calculate the best position for me to sit. There are two opposite benches facing each other underneath an awning. One person is sitting in the middle of one of the benches while another is sitting on the far left side of the other bench. I decided it would be best to sit at the far right side. This provided the maximum amount of space between us all.

9:35 a.m. - The line of people waiting for ticket distribution outside of Reynolds Coliseum.

I noticed that most people seemed to be standing in little groups throughout the line. It would seem that everyone came in groups to begin with, but the chances of that are slim. Using my knowledge of Proxemic Zones, I would venture to guess that the reason for the pattern is due to consistent communication. The people who had been standing in line the longest had most likely gotten to know each other and had stepped out of a Public zone and into a more Social one.

9:45 a.m. - Arrangement of seating in lobby on ground floor of Withers Hall.

There are five, two person couches that are in the lobby and when I arrived this morning every on of them had one person sitting on them. I decided I was going to have to break the mold and sit with someone else. I noticed that I chose a seat beside a girl who had placed her book bag in the middle of the couch. Looking back I believe I chose this one because the girl had already provide a barrier between us that we would not have to establish using nonverbal cues.

11:30 a.m. - Sitting with an acquaintance at lunch.

I normally eat lunch with one of my friends, but since he was sick today, I decided to eat with an acquaintance from my Spanish class. I say he is an acquaintance because he is most definitely not a friend. We got Chick Fil A and ate it in the bubble located at the brickyard. When I sat down at a four person table I noticed that he sat at the corner across from me. I think he did this to provide the maximum distance between us since we are not good friends.

4:15 p.m. - Seating on the bus back to my apartment.

When the bus arrives at Talley Student Center there is always a mad dash to be the first person on the bus. There are 20 pairs of seats provide around 40 total seats. I was standing approximately 20th in line and noticed that every single person in front of me sat down in a seat by themselves knowing full well that all the seats on the bus would be taken. I feel as though those people wanted that extra space while they could get it knowing that the ride back to the apartment would be crowded.



In summary, I would like to reiterate the fact that our Proxemic Zones are all around us and they effect our decision making processes on a day to day basis. The situations that I listed above are only the ones that stood out in my mind. I'm sure that there were many more that I just did not recognize at the time. Looking through the examples I gave shows just how much people value space. Either at a bus stop, a couch in a lobby, or a seat on the bus they know will be taken, people are always trying to maximize their space and protect it from others.