Kennedy Bus Observation

Alvin Chui SOC 110-03 November 2, 2016

Observation Assignment

Thinking about riding the bus to a different town, I went to the Kennedy bus stop. I sat quietly at the bus stop, and it was one o’clock in the afternoon. As time went by, more people emerged slowly around me. I wasn’t using any technology, but quietly sitting at the bus stop. Surprisingly, I felt that my senses were sharpen like the focus function in camera. Everything around me became slow and vivid. Therefore, I decided to stay in the bus stop for an hour, watching people coming, passing by, and entering the bus.

In the beginning, it was uncomfortable for me to look at people at the bus stop directly. This unconformity was a social constraint, pushing me to act like others. When I did something weird and different, it would grab people’s attention instantly. Therefore, I only noticed people talking or using a phone in the beginning. It gave me a feeling of these people didn’t want to be bother. However, as I was adapting, I started to see insects flying or

While people were entering the bus, I noticed that a line was formed based on whoever was closer to the bus, not on age, gender, class, or race. There weren’t any social norms nor any sanctions to those who were “out of line” during my observation, nevertheless, no one would do anything weird like dancing or singing at the bus stop. I realized that no one sat on the ground other than the bench. I started to have these sociological imaginations when I felt guilty sitting at the bus stop without actually waiting for the bus. People would rather stand to wait than to sit on the ground even though it was uncomfortable. Furthermore, no one paid attention to the insects near them. People often thought that it was technology that stopped them from socializing, nonetheless, it was actually due to social