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I'd like to know the culture where smiling is seen differently. It is the global symbol of happiness and tells everybody on earth "i'm a friend" or at least "i'

by shiz 10y ago

I'd like to know the culture where smiling is seen differently. It is the global symbol of happiness and tells everybody on earth "i'm a friend" or at least "i'm friendly".

brenschluss 10y ago
Ever been to Eastern Europe or Russia?
- rimliu 10y ago
  It is still a sign of happiness there. Only these people do not believe that one can be happy all the time so constant smiling comes off as insincere. There is a Russian saying "Смех без причины - признак дурочины" — smiling without a reason is a sign of stupidity.
Broken_Hippo 10y ago
There are a lot of examples of the differing meaning of a smile when you google it. Sometimes it is simply not appropriate to smile. I'm not sure if there are any culture that sees them as entirely evil, but a few do have a concept of an evil grin, a concept that sits alongside the smiles being friendly. It doesn't seem to be a stretch that a mistimed smile might make you look like a loon and other such differing beliefs. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/05/culture-and-smiling/483827/ https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/05/culture-... https://blog.allpsych.com/smiling-means-different-things-in-different-cultures/ https://blog.allpsych.com/smiling-means-different-things-in-... https://www.translatemedia.com/us/blog-us/the-meaning-of-a-smile-in-different-cultures/ https://www.translatemedia.com/us/blog-us/the-meaning-of-a-s...
- shiz 10y ago
  Of course, when someone tells you his mother died and you smile like an idiot, it surely will not create a positive effect. The way I understood OP, it seemed as if - in a normal setting - smiling would be frowned upon when talking to people in general in some places... which I find hard to believe.
had2makeanact 10y ago
South-East Asia: It's okay if you're trying to be friendly with a regular guy but if you're trying to get someone to work for you then you'd be better off not smiling and exchanging pleasantries or they'll rip you off. "Hey, how are you? How much will you charge to take me 5 kms" would be the wrong approach to take with a taxi driver. Just try to look stoic (but not like an asshole) and you'd be better off.

by shiz 10y ago

I'd like to know the culture where smiling is seen differently. It is the global symbol of happiness and tells everybody on earth "i'm a friend" or at least "i'm friendly".

brenschluss 10y ago

Ever been to Eastern Europe or Russia?

rimliu 10y ago
It is still a sign of happiness there. Only these people do not believe that one can be happy all the time so constant smiling comes off as insincere. There is a Russian saying "Смех без причины - признак дурочины" — smiling without a reason is a sign of stupidity.

Broken_Hippo 10y ago

There are a lot of examples of the differing meaning of a smile when you google it. Sometimes it is simply not appropriate to smile. I'm not sure if there are any culture that sees them as entirely evil, but a few do have a concept of an evil grin, a concept that sits alongside the smiles being friendly. It doesn't seem to be a stretch that a mistimed smile might make you look like a loon and other such differing beliefs. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/05/culture-and-smiling/483827/ https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/05/culture-... https://blog.allpsych.com/smiling-means-different-things-in-different-cultures/ https://blog.allpsych.com/smiling-means-different-things-in-... https://www.translatemedia.com/us/blog-us/the-meaning-of-a-smile-in-different-cultures/ https://www.translatemedia.com/us/blog-us/the-meaning-of-a-s...

shiz 10y ago
Of course, when someone tells you his mother died and you smile like an idiot, it surely will not create a positive effect. The way I understood OP, it seemed as if - in a normal setting - smiling would be frowned upon when talking to people in general in some places... which I find hard to believe.

had2makeanact 10y ago

South-East Asia: It's okay if you're trying to be friendly with a regular guy but if you're trying to get someone to work for you then you'd be better off not smiling and exchanging pleasantries or they'll rip you off. "Hey, how are you? How much will you charge to take me 5 kms" would be the wrong approach to take with a taxi driver. Just try to look stoic (but not like an asshole) and you'd be better off.