People who tell you to smile all the time.

I find it incredibly rude and annoying when complete strangers tell me to smile. There's a guy at work who i find pretty obnoxious. I was getting ready to go home today and as i was locking up he came up to me when i was on my own and said " can you smile more tomorrow? I find it depressing". I just looked at him and was so surprised that i just sort of said "erm, ok".

I don't know who he thinks he is but i wouldn't dream of going up to people and telling them to smile, especially a stranger. I wish people would just mind their own business. It's not as though they're actually saying it because they want you to be happy it's because they live in their own little bubble and don't even consider that, oh, i don't know, maybe some people aren't happy and are going through something that maybe makes them feel like they don't want to plaster a fake smile on their face just to please people that don't even know or care about them in the first place.

What really annoys me though is i don't see anybody else at work walking around smiling all the time but it's always me who gets picked out for not smiling. I don't know if it's because i'm also quiet so people think they can say what they like to me or something but saying "smile" does in no way shape or form make me feel like smiling, it just makes me feel even more self conscious so if anyone reading this does this to other people please don't.

It definitely wasn't right for him to tell you to smile, especially since they don't know you well at all. Very rude.

Still I can't see any hurt in smiling. Apparently physically smiling actually makes your brain think you're happier. I can't see any hurt in that.

I never thought about it much until this thread but I have a somewhat different reaction. When I think about most of the times anyone has said "smile", as a reaction I smiled even if it was fake. I do remember feeling a little better on those occasions.

Then again, if in a bad mood I can see how it could be the wrong thing to say.

If someone tells me to smile and I'm not happy they'll get a sarcastic one.

I feel the same way too. People told me to smile all the time, so i've learned to smile everywhere, even if i'm not happy. The most funny part is now they are telling me to stop smiling because it's so fake. What is wrong with them?

Only time I've been subjected to that command
was 'say cheeeeeese' to the camera
which means acting and lying

I do it a bit

The only person I did what I was told was my mum when I was younger than 10

Her last command to me before dying was 'be nice to people'

I'd much prefer being told to do something really difficult. Breathe. Climb a mountain
I cannot decide if smiling is far too simple or basic to being ordered to do it
Equivalently, open your eyes. Open your mouth. Swallow
If I was the instructor, giving imperative commands to one, or a sermon in church

It's self-impairment or to be told

Acting
:question:

Individualness / individuality / rebellion

Lot of people
Fit in
or don't.
stand out

when people tell me I need to smile more I tell them if everyone else in the world frowned then i'd be smiling by default

R3K said:

when people tell me I need to smile more I tell them if everyone else in the world frowned then i'd be smiling by default

Click to expand...

Oddly, that just made me smile.

This sums it up

Do Not Tell Me to Smile | inconnu magazine

I can put on a slightly fake smile when i'm out meeting people. But to be told you have to smile when you're alone in your home and or struggling with something traumatic or feeling ill is not only rude, it's hopelessly retarded.

I find that this attitude is very American. Go to France, Italy, Scandinavia, the attitude is overall different. Although in some circles or areas you might find the same attitude. In HIgh School i got frowned upon when i tried to "act" or smile fake by the cool people in my class. They, like me, could not stand fake people or smiles. They said you're cool because you're not boring like the rest. You're different, so don't try to become like "them".....Ah, how i miss them. MOst people conform, sadly to the expectations from society.