Talking to 35 Strangers at the Gym
The author, feeling lonely after college, decided to confront their fear of social interaction by talking to 35 strangers at the gym over a month. They developed a strategy of approaching familiar gym-goers with tailored opening lines and aimed to converse for 5–10 minutes. While some interactions led to ongoing acquaintances, others ended without follow-up, revealing mixed but meaningful social outcomes.
- ▪The author conducted a personal experiment to combat loneliness by speaking to one stranger at the gym each day for a month.
- ▪They customized their opening lines based on observed details, such as clothing or workout habits, to start conversations.
- ▪Some interactions led to continued greetings or discussions, while others resulted in no further contact.
- ▪One individual the author connected with was an Upstate Medical University student who occasionally initiated conversations afterward.
- ▪The author noted that fear of awkwardness had previously prevented them from engaging with people they knew, including roommates and former classmates.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Talking to 35 Strangers at the Gym Background A couple months ago, I was the Wizard of Loneliness. I had graduated from college almost two years prior and, while I had luckily found a job, I was unsuccessful in finding friends. Each night, I would look up “how to make friends after college” and find the same advice given every time: “do your hobby with other people, frequently”. On paper, the gym seemed like the perfect opportunity to meet people since I would go there nearly every day; however, according to Reddit, there’s a number of people who want to be left alone and can be irritated if you interrupted their workout to talk. Figure 1: Redditors who don't like to be interrupted at the gym I am deeply afraid of irritating someone or being in awkward situations.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Thienantran.
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