Do blind people have a sense of when they are being looked at? Just thinking about self consciousness of the sighted vs the blind(self.Blind)
submitted by tylerdhenry
casserole_cat5 points1y ago
Yes I can tell idk how to explain it I just can. I’m legally blind though so I can’t see others faces from a distance so I can’t confirm it. Except for once I was at a in and out with my friend and her family and her mom is deaf and it was late at night and we sat down and were just talking (I’m really close with her family). And people were staring I could feel it and so I said to my friend afterwards and asked her if people were staring and she said “yea the entire place was staring at us” and she was not joking.
Idk it was late and we were driving back from a different town and had stopped in this small town. They Probably never seen sign language. Super awkward though I could feel people watching me eat my burger.
complex-blobfish4 points1y ago
yes. though i can't say iv'e ever gone to the extent of asking someone to confirm if someone actually was looking at me.
i can tell if people are laughing at me bc i can tell which way their face is facing by the sound. it is similar to that. you can just feel it somewhere in the back of your neck, prickly and cold.
Tarnagona3 points1y ago
Nope, not for me. If someone is close enough, I might be able to see they’re looking in my direction, but they could be looking at me or at something beside/behind me. I’m glad I can’t tell when people are staring at me, because it probably happens more than I realize.
Laser_Lens_43 points1y ago
I cannot, but I can tell if someone is close by due to the change in air pressure or the sound of their breathing if I'm in a quiet room.
hopesthoughts2 points1y ago
If someone's sitting a table or 2 away from you, talking about you, wouldn't you think they're watching you?
zzaacckk82 points1y ago
I just assume that they're looking. Admiring my sunglasses and cane lol
JudgeSavings2 points1y ago
i do, i just, know when people ar looking at me, and i have natrualy made eco location with out doing anything extra, i can just tell when something is comming up infront of me or if something to my sides is blocking me off
oncenightvaler2 points1y ago
I wish I had more of a sense about this I have none.
devinprater2 points1y ago
When I'm in a social setting, I always feel like I'm being looked at.
napoleon882 points1y ago
some claim to have a sixth sense about these things...though I don't know how that could be tested impirically. I think though that blind people who are prone to anxiety feel that they are being stared at anyway, and maybe its worse for them because they can never falsify that impression.
Laully_2 points1y ago
I get that. It's more of a "They can see so they can see me, so I have to be careful when they're around," because we can't tell if they're looking at us or if they can see us from where we are. That's how my mom and I are, anyway.
NovemberGoat1 points1y ago
I can, in the right situation. If I can hear well enough to know when someone stops moving completely in a social setting where they shouldn't, it's a surefire indicator that they're staring. Their stillness plus their silence is deafening. I'm sure that proprioception plays a part in it as well. Whenever I pick up on it, I stop what I'm doing and stare back. It's quite fun watching them squirm.
Laully_1 points1y ago
I think for some people, they can tell because of the manner the person is standing in, if they pause what their doing or slow down walking for a bit. And because people might say something or whisper in their direction. I can't make judgements like that, but it is possible. Ironically I'm hypersensitive to sound, but I can't really tell where sounds come from or tell what people say, no matter how far or close I am. I make a horrible blind person.
mammaube1 points1y ago
Oh yeah we can tell. It's like a sixth sense. And it's really annoying especially when I'm in public walking around and some ass just keeps staring at me cause they see me using a cane. Ummm I'm not an alien!! If you have questions just ask!! -_-
Our mission is to provide everyone with access to large- scale community websites for the good of humanity. Without ads, without tracking, without greed.