Social Norm Analysis

The social norm which was violated by me is sitting in an empty chair at an otherwise occupied table. This social norm was violated at a local fast food restaurant near my residence. I visited a restaurant few days back with one my friend and we wilfully sat on a table on which a person was already sitting and he went to the counter to order the food. Although I had seen the car keys and wallet on the table but I thought I would try something out of the ordinary for this assignment and also this particular day I woke up feeling rather too excited with myself and everyone around me. However, in the meanwhile the person who was sitting on the table suddenly came and told us that these things belong to him. That was a very embarrassing situation for me and I apologized to the individual because of this misunderstanding and moved to the next empty table in the restaurant. Referring back to the textbook, considering proxemics I would be in the intimate space with his belongings, personal space with my friend and in social space of the stranger who’s seat I took. …show more content…
I visited the restaurant during the peak lunch hours, therefore, majority of the tables were occupied and lot of people were sitting in the restaurant and enjoying their food. The reaction of the individual was as anticipated, he seemed defensive, as I saw his grip on this food tray get tighter and I could see the slightest bit of anger in his face because his nose did flare up, although his voice seemed subdued. Some people believed that I mistakenly sat on the seat and the incident happened just because of the misunderstanding. However, there were also few people who expressed that it was not a mistake and I intentionally tried to grab the table because there were very few tables available in the restaurant and I tried to sit on the table, which was near to the food