Mom said not to look into anyone's eyes and I'll be fine.

Subway Behavior

When you hear the term "subway behavior", you might be thinking of all the exciting music and special performances in the hubs as shown below in the video found on youtube.

However, the true behavior is inside the train. There are subtleties about the way the passengers on the train interact that conflict with normal social norms, traditions, and customs of the subway.In a way, the subway system is an underground society.


Through my travels on the subway Canarsie L line I found that there were certain customs of the subway and actions that people do without realizing. I've listed them accordingly with its context and a brief interpretation:










Looking in the windows as a mirror: I saw three people that continuously looked at themselves in the window as if it were a mirror. In it they fixed their eyebrows, hair, brushed off lint from their clothing and one of them smirked. It seems like in the subway, people need to prepare for the outside world again by making sure they look good or their hair is straight. Perhaps it is because they have an interview to go to or just caught the train and want to organize themselves, but I feel like there is something more- it says that in NY-everyone is always watching everyone-as long as they don't look you square in the eye.

Cell phones: Now, usually when you go down several feet underground, you do not get any service. However, several people were just looking at their phones checking the time and one was even playing a game. This need to constantly do something rather than sit back and relax tells us something very important about NY. Everyone seems very wound up. Also, out of boredom, I've noticed that people still try calling even when they know they will not get service because for some reason- they need outside contact- could this be how people escape claustrophobia in the subway and deal with the "buried alive"fear?


Seating: There are a few procedures about seating.

1. Even after you have waited a clear thirty minutes for a seat, if a pregnant woman steps into the train she automatically gets the seat- this is interesting because it is a common courtesy that remains part of the real world.



2. Everyone strives to get a seat during rush hour, but when it is not, people will sit themselves one seat apart if they can. Changing seats and distancing is a way of keeping to yourself. People also tend to do this during rush hour especially if they are sitting next to someone that is outside their scope of "normal". Is there a fear of catching cooties? I think not.



3. Race is a seating factor. I've noticed that there is a clear racial determinant in how people arrange themselves in a subway car. Someone white will most likely, perhaps unconsciously, sit themselves next to a person of the same color and then choose according to what social / economical class.

How we make contact: I've noticed, and have done it myself- starting up particularly interesting conversations wityhh strangers. Whether its asking for the time, trying to get directions, or noticing something in common-people try to foster connection. Perhaps because NY society has made us disconnected- one might claim that the subway gave Manhattan its community feeling- but one might point out that in some ways- it has isolated us further.

While this is only scrapes at the surface of the different behavior found beneath the city, it does account for some very important ones. I would say that there is a feeling of distrust, disgust, and dismay in the subway. I would say that people need something to remind them that there is an outside world and barely does anyone want to interact with people on the subway. There are innocent gestures that we do unconsciously because, in a way, we want to interact on the subway. It is our actions and new behaviors underground that tell so much of how the people of this city are and act in awkward social situations.