odd discovery regarding eye contact

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i've been meaning to mention this for awhile now.

i may have mentioned before that i work as a hospital housekeeper. combine the lack of self-esteem the job causes with aspergers, and you have a perfect formula for eye contact hell.

anyway, there are certain rooms, when the patient is in isolation mode, which require you wear a face mask, which covers the lower half of your face. i've noticed when i wear that mask, even though my eyes are showing, i feel much more comfortable and have a greater ability to speak to/make substantially more eye contact with others. it's not 100%, but it does go up noticeably. there can be visitors in the room staring a hole through me, as they do, and it doesn't bother me as much. there is the fact i'm kind of self-conscious about the proportion and layout of my lower face, and the fact it's not very expressive and i feel like everyone's staring at that part of me (other people who are, themselves, rather expressionless).

anyway i wondered if anyone else had a similar discovery. autism researchers should look into this.

In Japan it's polite to not make eye contact

i know! i think this is why japanese seem to love me!

Maybe it makes you feel more secure because you're... covered up. People can't see so much of you. Or something. I haven't actually had a chance to use anything like that but I don't know if it would help. I don't think I could make eye contact even with it on though.

Interesting.

I read somewhere that if you don't want to look someone in the eyes if you look at an area near their eyes for example their nose that they will still think that you are looking them in the eyes. Hope this helps.

I heard the same thing about some tribes in south America.
Don't look the other in the eye when talking.

If it became genetic over time , how long has this type of culture been the norm??

It could be that you look at people's mouths when you look at them, because for some reason or another you think of the mouth as the 'area of expression' on the face. So, you feel safer knowing that your 'area of expression' is hidden.

It is pretty unusual for people to think eye-contact is polite. With gorillas, things that would indicate friendliness in humans (eye-contact, smiling) is considered an aggressive act.

i dont understand why im SUPPOSED to stare people in the eyes when talking to them its too weird

Some of my teachers have accused me of rolling my eyes at them, because they were standing too close to me and I felt uncomfortable with them looking me right in the eye, so I tried to look at the top of their heads instead.

When I visited the beach a few months ago, I sat drinking Diet Coke on the promenade and felt uncomfortable. I felt a lot better when I put my sun glasses on. If people can't see my eyes, they can't accuse me of making inappropriate eye contact.