Whilst researching ideas for our intervention I came across an
article about an American who created a tube badge idea. This was created by
NHS worker Jonathan Dunne. He was inspired by the fact that no one on the London
tube wanted to talk to each other. Research shows that London is a lonely place
(one of the many reasons for depression and suicide) with over a quarter of us
saying that we feel lonely and most of us do not even know who our neighbours
are. Many of us are searching for more social interaction, however this is made
hard because of the social stigma around talking to strangers. Jonathan Dunne
wanted to bridge the gap and help increase social interactions between us all.
He created a badge that those who wanted to interact and engage could wear it
and those who didn’t want this, didn’t have to wear it at all. The badge is
supposed to remove the social stigma of talking to strangers by making it
obvious that they want to chat, rather than asking ourselves “Do they want to
chat?”. In addition to this, Psychologists have found that speaking to
strangers increases our happiness, in a study they conducted they found that
participants in a waiting room had positive experiences when they were spoken
to, just as much as when they were instructed to talk. The logic behind this is
that humans are social creatures and by interacting with others we better our
own well being.
However, despite this sounding like an amazing idea, many commuters
couldn’t warm to this idea and Jonathan got a frosty reception when trying to
hand them out. I personally still think it’s a nice idea that removes the
stigma from speaking to strangers.
Our idea of ‘Get to Know Your Driver’ should hopefully have
a different response as we are encouraging commuters to acknowledge the people
that provide a service for them every day. We believe that being a bus or train
driver can be a very isolating and alienating experience with minimal contact,
could we change their day by engaging with them and making them feel
appreciated?
https://metro.co.uk/2016/09/29/heres-why-tube-chat-badges-are-a-great-idea-6159845/
Tasha
This really interesting that someone has tried to implement something to do with the idea of chatting already. Shame it didn't take off quite the way the guy planned but its fair I think. Londoners travelling on the tube don't tend to want to engage in a full conversation with a stranger when commenting I think. But the direction we're going in seems a bit less radical than sharing your life with a stranger you'll know for a really short amount of time. I think placing the focus on those that work on transport we could maybe thinking about the isolation they feel and respect. I mean like even just acknowledging (rather than engaging in a lengthy conversation) will increase spirits. Also there was a mention of the abuse that these people face and think we could draw on that. Just encouraging better a environment of simple communication that'll impact everyone.
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