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近幾年来，“尴尬”一词逐渐成为流行热词并衍生出一系列网络词汇，如尬聊、尬舞、尬唱……尴尬之余令人捧腹。《生活大爆炸》中的物理学天才谢耳朵，为人傲娇，行事古怪，常以其超群智商碾压他人，却患有严重的社交障碍——讲话刻薄，听不懂言外之意，也从不考虑别人的感受，人际交往方面令人尴尬。在现实生活中，有社交尴尬症的人也不在少数，然而这一特殊群体虽然另类，却散发着自身独特的光芒。
A few years ago， “awkward” became the term du jour for the socially clumsy.1 When I looked at the number of people who Googled the question “Why am I so awkward？”， I saw a spike2 that remained consistent for five years. The sharp rise in people’s interest in awkwardness may partly reflect the trendiness of the word， but also that more people are feeling socially awkward and wonder why that might be the case.3
Today， it’s cool to be a nerd4. We can’t get enough of awkward physicists on television shows like The Big Bang Theory or awkward millennial sex scenes on Girls.5 When Star Wars： The Force Awakens opened，fans proudly posted their cosplay photos on social media with self-aware hashtags like #awkward and #cantstop#wontstop.6
Although I am encouraged by the growing freedom awkward people have to embrace their unique interests and identity as such， there remain significant challenges.7 While awkward moments are sometimes uproariously funny， chronic awkwardness can threaten one’s social inclusion and there are few things more troubling than feeling you are on the out side looking in.8
The roots of the word “awkward” come from the Old Norse9 afgr， which means “facing the wrong way.” It is a useful and relatively benign10 term compared to some of the names kids call each other， but awkward people already know that they see the world differently from most people. What awkward people need is guidance on how to navigate the social world with their unique perspective.
The imagery inspired by afgr gives us a useful clue for developing a more functional definition of awkward people. Afgr suggests that these people are facing the wrong way，but I like to think that awkward people are simply looking elsewhere.
When non-awkward people walk into a room full of people， they see the big social picture. They intuitively understand the emotional tone in the room or how formally they should act. By comparison， awkward people tend to see social situations in a fragmented11 way. It’s as if they view the world with a narrow spotlight that means they see some things with intense clarity.12 It’s similar to what researchers call “localised processing”， when people narrowly focus on some of the trees rather than the entire forest.
A few years ago， “awkward” became the term du jour for the socially clumsy.1 When I looked at the number of people who Googled the question “Why am I so awkward？”， I saw a spike2 that remained consistent for five years. The sharp rise in people’s interest in awkwardness may partly reflect the trendiness of the word， but also that more people are feeling socially awkward and wonder why that might be the case.3
Today， it’s cool to be a nerd4. We can’t get enough of awkward physicists on television shows like The Big Bang Theory or awkward millennial sex scenes on Girls.5 When Star Wars： The Force Awakens opened，fans proudly posted their cosplay photos on social media with self-aware hashtags like #awkward and #cantstop#wontstop.6
Although I am encouraged by the growing freedom awkward people have to embrace their unique interests and identity as such， there remain significant challenges.7 While awkward moments are sometimes uproariously funny， chronic awkwardness can threaten one’s social inclusion and there are few things more troubling than feeling you are on the out side looking in.8
The roots of the word “awkward” come from the Old Norse9 afgr， which means “facing the wrong way.” It is a useful and relatively benign10 term compared to some of the names kids call each other， but awkward people already know that they see the world differently from most people. What awkward people need is guidance on how to navigate the social world with their unique perspective.
The imagery inspired by afgr gives us a useful clue for developing a more functional definition of awkward people. Afgr suggests that these people are facing the wrong way，but I like to think that awkward people are simply looking elsewhere.
When non-awkward people walk into a room full of people， they see the big social picture. They intuitively understand the emotional tone in the room or how formally they should act. By comparison， awkward people tend to see social situations in a fragmented11 way. It’s as if they view the world with a narrow spotlight that means they see some things with intense clarity.12 It’s similar to what researchers call “localised processing”， when people narrowly focus on some of the trees rather than the entire forest.