A balance between etiquette, communication in public spaces and understanding for a person who has social phobia. It’s complex.
The report brought by the portal may seem like an exaggeration to some readers. But for those who have social phobia, It’s not an exaggeration. And understand the context better.
Social phobia is the fear of certain social situations. The person with this disorder does not know how to speak in public, meet people or go to the supermarket. Or how to behave on a plane trip, for example. Everyday life is a challenge.
This episode was precisely in a flight and shared on social media by Lucie Fink, which sparked a debate about etiquette and communication in public spaces.
The situation began when Fink tried get a flight attendant’s attention by lightly touching her armafter feeling she had been ignored during drinks service.
However, the employee’s reaction was unexpectedly harsh: she responded loudly “Don’t touch the flight attendants!” which made all the passengers look at the scene.
The passenger explained that she had not intended to be rude, but felt deeply embarrassed by the public and abrupt response.
According to her, the episode had a emotional impact significant, especially for dealing with social phobia: avoiding her ruminating on the moment for days.
“I know the flight attendant is right, I shouldn’t have touched her. But now my whole week is ruined. I may never recover because interactions like this have haunted me for years”, wrote the passenger.
There’s a reason for the reaction
The publication generated many reactions online, with divided opinions.
Some people, including aviation professionals, considered that the flight attendant overreacted, arguing that a light touch could be an acceptable way to attract attention.
Others, however, pointed out that cabin crew may be more sensitive to physical contact, given that It’s not always done politely. — and may, in certain cases, be aggressive or invasive. “That’s why, we feel easily bothered by even the most innocent physical interactions“, explained another flight attendant.
Etiquette experts also contributed to the debate, reinforcing that, in general, you shouldn’t touch strangers without consenteven with good intentions.
Physical contact can be interpreted in different ways and, therefore, it is preferable to resort to verbal communication.
On the other hand, the flight attendant’s tone was also criticized, as raising her voice could aggravate the situation and cause unnecessary embarrassment.
But most of those who commented agree that it was a common misunderstanding, no need to blame severely to any of the people involved.
