50 People Share Things They Still Do Despite Them Being Socially Unacceptable

It's getting wild in here!

Maryjane

• Published in Interesting
• August 23, 2023

Humans have a peculiar drive to present themselves in a way that they believe will increase their admiration for or respect for them. This is known as social desirability bias in research, and it is the scourge of survey-makers everywhere.

The long and short of it is that people will answer questionnaires in ways they believe will make them look better, even when they are completely anonymous. Realizing how much this can bias any data gathering is not difficult.

Beyond survey data collection, it also suggests that we experience ongoing, pervasive pressure to publicly uphold certain standards, even if we seldom adhere to them at home. We constantly have some awareness of what is and isn't socially acceptable, and we adjust our public behavior accordingly. 

While it's becoming increasingly common to make jokes about some subjects, it's rare to hear people seriously investigate issues like mental health, social desirability, and general self-consciousness. Despite our superior judgment, these things continue to be unappealing to the general population and are ignored.

Therefore, it is not surprising that an internet user was curious about what people thought about themselves that was considered "socially unacceptable". The responses ranged from frank to moving, so settle back, make yourself comfy, and enjoy the ride.

More Info: Reddit

1. "I pee in the shower and I’m not ashamed"

2. A ridiculous world

3. Passively suicidal

4. "When I'm out in public I sometimes put my earbuds in just to listen to what other people are saying around me, nothing playing on my end."

5. Easy life

6. Brushing

7. "I have fake conversations with people i know in my head that result in me argumenting loudly to no one."

8. Bipolar disorder

9. "I will do nothing but sleep and eat all day if i could"

10. "I hate kids and am a teacher. I’m a high school teacher and I enjoy teaching teenagers, but can’t stand kids under the age of 11."

11. Pig farmer

12. No outing

13. "I don't want to work. I just want to live in a grassy field and eat fruit."

14. Left handed

It might sound ridiculous, but I was born a left handed person. It was unacceptable in our family and I was forced to eat and write with my right hand.

Now, I can write with both but much faster and neater with my right hand. In my dreams, I still write and eat with my left hand.

15. Sleeping

16. "I daydream wayyyy to much. I'm constantly day dreaming. At home, at work, while I'm driving, before I'm sleeping, while I'm eating. I'm always daydreaming."

17. No ambition

"I have no ambition to do anything. no dream job or passions either. I’m not depressed by any stretch but I just would be happy and fine if all I did was lay around all day and live off saved money. However most people are utterly disgusted by that so I lie and pretend I have a dream job or that I’m passionate about certain things I honestly only really do any of those things for money or to pass the time. I don’t care about any of them."

18. Babies

19. "As a woman I do not want kids."

I also think people should be able to choose voluntary euthanasia so they don't have to suffer if they don't want to (generally not for mental health problems but for physical ones).

Also, I don't follow rules because this post said one thing and I said three things, so there.

20. Few beers

21. "I talk to myself as if people were listening even when I’m alone"

22. "I have no real desire to do anything extraordinary with my life. I just want to have my own little corner in the world, and not be bothered by anyone. Or bother anyone."

23. "I don’t know what the f**k I’m doing most of the time. Respectfully."

24. Pregnancy

25. Childhood teddy bear

26. Laboratory

When I worked in a human transplant tissue lab I would talk to the (deceased) donors to make myself feel better about processing a person who died suddenly hours before.. like “hey Mrs. Byrd, how are we feeling today?” When she is obviously lying in pieces in a cooler about to be swabbed, irradiated, and transplanted in another human.

27. "A can go for weeks without talking to anyone. I have no need to talk. I’d make a great vow of silence monk."

28. "I feel like I'm constantly analysing how to interact with people - every conversation I have feels like a performance and not the real me, like Im just mimicking other conversations I've read or heard."

29. Autism

30. "Id rather be naked about 80%of the time"

31. "I definitely do not know at what point expressing my desire to talk to someone crosses from 'reaching out in a friendly way' into 'annoying and impinging'. And I worry about it !"

32. Mess up

33. Introvert

34. Automated behavior

35. If offered

36. Childfree

37. "I met my wife at her wedding."

The story continues...

And finally...

38. Being away

39. Okay

40. Nice one

41. "I’m a reasonably attractive, goal-driven woman in my 20s and I have genital herpes"

Right before the first pandemic shutdown I was raped at a concert and got it as a result. I’ve healed a lot from what happened and have very much come to terms with it and I accept it’s a part of who I am, but yeah, generally the perspective on STDs sucks and people are quick to joke about them/judge people who have them when in reality these things can happen to just about anyone.

42. Faking it

43. Voice in my head

44. Brushing

45. "I am a grown man who likes to play with action figures and yes I do make the noises to pretend they’re fighting it’s my hobby it relaxes me and yet I rarely tell people because they look at me like I’m a child why should we loose our sense of wonder as we grow?"

46. Comfortably dressed

47. "I can never tell if I am a lazy person or depressed."

48. "I pick my nose relentlessly."

49. People pleaser

50. "I have an incredibly hard time talking to people I don't know."

We also adore a good bit of gossip. Imagine you are out to dinner and you overhear a bad first date or an altercation from a nearby table. Most of us, including myself, would pause what we were doing to listen.

This is a crucial aspect of social grooming from an evolutionary perspective, but it also frequently comes across as juvenile, and individuals are reluctant to acknowledge they do it. Do add your own, unique examples in the comments.

Maryjane